Luke Cage: Hero For Hire (The Movie)
by capyle
Summary: A prose version of a fan movie script. After under going a medical experiment as a means of parole, ex-convict Carl Lucas finds himself blessed with great strength and durability. He is soon employed by a mysterious millionaire and given a job as "Luke Cage: Hero for Hire". What happens when superheroics turns into a business? He's about to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Night time. An abandoned warehouse in New York. A few lights hang low, casting only a small amount of light on the men standing around a table. The men on one end all weild guns while the man on the other end has a metal briefcase. He places it on the table and flips it open, exposing a few pounds of cocaine. "Straight from Columbia as promised," he tells them, "The finest stuff you'll get in New York." A man opens a knife and cuts a bag open. He dips the knife in, taking some of the white powder onto his blade before laying it onto a mirror on the table. He takes a straw and prepares to snort it when the skyline above them shatters.

The silohuette of a man drops down several feet, hitting the concrete hard enough to crack it under his shoes. The men spin around, asking no questions as they open fire with their 9mm's. Bullets hit the man as sparks fly but he does not fall. Instead, he rushes forward. One gunman begins to panic and fire wildly, the light from the burst of gunfire exposing the face of their assailant with each shot. It is the face of a large, African American male in his twenties: bald with a goatee. This is Luke Cage. With each shot, he gets closer and closer until the gunman is hurled back across the room. Luke Cage backhands another gunman, sending him into the wall behind them. The dealer scrambles to put his drugs back in his briefcase, not bothering to stick around. Meanwhile, a hand snatches one gunman while the other hand snatches a second gunman. Cage raises the two men into the air, one in each hand, and slams them together before dropping them. The dealer takes his briefcase and runs toward the door. Cage notices this and kicks the table, sending it through the air where it hits the dealer in the back and knocks him down. Cage walks toward him but another thug steps in his way who pulls a switchblade and flicks it in his face before driving it toward him. Cage opens his palm, allowing the blade to get crumpled against his skin. The thug looks at his dented knife with astonishment just before Cage casually swats him out of the way. He strides over to the dealer and hefts him against a wall, the dealer clenching his eyes, expecting a severe beating. Instead, Cage pulls out his phone and brings up a picture of the dealer's wanted poster.

"This you?," he asks.

"Y-Yes," the dealer replies as he slowly opens his eyes.

"Good," he scrolls down, showing the reward money, "This is how much money I'm gonna make bringing you in."

"What?"

"Thought you might like to know. You have a pretty sweet price on your head. It's impressive. I mean, I've caught quite a few guys so far and this is the highest I've been paid yet. Should be an honor for you."

"Who... Who are you?"

Cage shoots the dealer a look.

**LUKE CAGE: HERO FOR HIRE**


	2. Chapter 2

**Harlem, Five Years Earlier...**

An elderly African American woman stares out her apartment window at nothing in particular. The TV is on but she's not watching it. "Wendel Rand and his family have been missing for the past five years...," the anchorwoman announces on the television. Soon, her grandson enters the living room with a gym bag. This is 18 year old Carl Lucas who will later be known as Luke Cage. He is tall, handsome, and muscular with short hair. He kisses his grandmother on the cheek, "Gonna go play some ball, granny. I'll be home late."

"Okay, baby."

"Did you remember to take your medicine?"

"I sure did."

"Okay, granny. I love you."

"Love you back."

As Carl turns to leave, he hits his knee against the corner of the short hallway leading to the door, "Aw, shit." His grandmother looks up, "Is that you cussing over there, boy?"

"No, Granny. I said... Christmas."

"That's what I thought. Don't make me whup your ass!"

Lucas leaves the apartment building and goes out into the street. The neighborhood is poor and rundown, a view of the country rarely seen but all too real. He continues to the subway station where he takes a train to another part of New York as the sun goes down. He gets out in a much nicer area and makes his way to a street corner where he waits while nighttime comes.

Soon, another teenager approaches. This is Willis Stryker who is Lucas' age and roughly his build. The two of them clasp hands.

"What's up, Carl."

"Willis."

"You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'm gonna be."

"Alright, man. Welcome to the Rivals," Willis shows a dagger tattoo on the back of his right hand, between the thumb and forefinger.

"I'm not in your gang, man," Lucas becomes agitated, "This is only gonna happen a few times. I'm no thug!"

"Relax. I got this. Look man, we used to go to school together. Remember that?"

"I remember doing some pretty stupid things. I just grew up. You got worse ever since you met Sonny, the Hammer."

"Whatever, man. Act like your shit don't stink."

"Just tell me how this is gonna go down."

"Alright, the people in these apartments got money but not so much they're gonna afford security systems. We pick the lock and we're in. Easy. We stay in the living room. We get computers, TV's, phones, whatever we can carry and we get out."

"And if we see anybody?

Willis pulls a switchblade from his jacket pocket, "We show `im this."

"You're as crazy as you are stupid! I'm not killing nobody. Put that thing away!"

"Who said we were kill'n anybody? It's just to scare `im off. It ain't like I got a gun. And trust me, if I wanted, I could've brought one."

"At least you got some sense."

"Nobody's gonna see us anyway. They never do."

"You're leaving that thing behind."

"You always act like you're above it all. Why you doing this anyway?"

"I just need the money for my granny. She's sick and needs medicine. I'm not some thug and I'm sure as hell not in your gang."

"Yeah, I know. We wouldn't take your punkass anyway."

"So... we doing this thing or not?"

"Yeah. Come on."

They start down the street. "Just be sure we're not using that knife on nobody, Willis" Lucas warns him again. Willis groans, "Nobody's gonna see us, man." They walk into an apartment complex and to the apartment closest to the door. Lucas stands watch while Willis picks the lock. A few moments later and they're in. They quietly slip into the apartment, Willis pointing out a laptop on the table in the kitchen area. Lucas quickly slips the laptop in his bag while Willis makes his way over to the surround sound system nearby.

Suddenly, the lights turn on. Both teens freeze as a large man enters the living room with a baseball bat. "I see you punks!," he shouts, "This is the third time my place has been robbed this year! It's not happening again!" Lucas tries to make a run for the door but the man swings his bat around, blocking off the exit, "Oh, not so fast, son!". Willis pulls the switchblade from his pocket and waves it around menacingly. The man glares at Willis and raises the bat, "Bring it on! I ain't afraid of you! You think you're man enough, do it!" Lucas drops his bag and shouts, "Willis, let's get out of here!"

Willis ignores Lucas and charges at the man. Before he can plunge the knife into his gut, however, Lucas tackles him to the floor. The man drops his bat and quickly snatches his cellphone from the coffee table. He jumps over Willis and Lucas who continue to struggle on the floor. He runs out of his apartment, dialing 911 in the process, "Hello, I'd like to report a break in!" he shouts into the reciever. Inside the apartment, Willis tries to force the knife into Lucas who now struggles to break free. Lucas jabs Willis in the forehead and rolls to the side; the two tumble along the floor and once Willis is on his back, he screams in agony. Lucas leaps to his feet, astonished and horrified. Willis writhes below him, the blade now sticking out of his thigh. Lucas makes a break for it, leaving a wounded Willis behind. He races down the stairs and gets to the lobby where he bolts out of the main entrance.

Minutes later, Willis crawls into the bathroom, blood trailing behind him as he pulls himself up on the toilet, snatching a towel from the rack to place on his leg wound. Two officers make their way inside the apartment and eventually make their way to the bathroom. Willis looks up at them with pleading eyes, "I'll tell you everything you need to know."

Lucas pokes his head out of an alley, searching for any police officers. With the coast clear, he sprints down the sidewalk. As luck would have it, the moment he turns the corner, a squad car cuts him off as it mounts the curb. Lucas retreats in the opposite direction, only to see a beat cop racing toward him. He darts out in the middle of the street, tires screetching as cars come to a stop. His momentum carries him over the hood of one car and by the time he gets back up, the police officers have already descended upon him; as they read him his rights, they handcuff his hands behind his back. He doesn't resist.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucas sits in an interrogation room, handcuffed. A few moments later, his grandmother is led into the room. He closes his eyes and looks away while she sits down with the guard hovering behind them.

"I thought I raised you better than this, boy."

"You did, granny. I'm sorry."

"Why'd you do it?"

"I wanted to get money for your medicine. I know things are tight right now."

"Carl Lucas, no matter how tight things get, you should never let that keep you from doing the right thing."

"You're right, granny. I guess you're pretty mad, huh?"

"No. I love you, Carl. Just like I loved your mom and dad. Don't worry about my medicine. The folks at church said they'd chip in. Meanwhile, you try your best to keep out of trouble. Y'hear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Stryker is in a hospital bed with a bandage around his leg. A police officer opens the door, letting three men inside before closing it. They dress much like Stryker and look just as dangerous. The lead is a tall, thin man named Sonny 'The Hammer' Caputo. He is the leader of the Rivals.

Stryker looks at him nervously, "Sonny."

"Stryker, what the hell are you doing," he begins, "Bringing some dumbass kid with you on a job?"

"Sonny, look man, I'm sorry. The kid needed some money. We went to school together. I didn't expect it to go down that way."

"I talked to my lawyer, we can make a deal."

"You can keep me outta prison?"

"Hell, no. Your ass is getting locked up... but we made sure you're getting a reduced sentence. Also, we already have some boys going to Seagate Prison so we cut a deal to have Lucas sent there. They'll make sure to pay `im a visit."

"Sonny Caputo, comes through. Thanks man," he rests back on his bed.

"When you get out, you're gonna have to make it up," he warns.

"I feel ya."

Several weeks later, Lucas is brought in to a courtroom; it's a small area with a baliff, prosecutor, defense, and a jury. Willis Stryker sits at the back with his leg still bandaged up. The two of them lock eyes as Lucas sits beside his lawyer, waiting for the trial to begin.

Soon, a young girl walks up to his lawyer and whispers somehting in his ear. The lawyer nods and allows her to sit next to him. She's a pretty girl around Lucas' age with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Hi, I'm Jessica Jones. I'm with the press," she says as she nervously shakes his hand, "You're Carl Lucas, right?"

"Yeah," Lucas looks at her curiously, "You're a reporter? How old are you?"

"Well...I'm not exactly a reporter. I'm an intern at the Pulse."

"They sent you out here to get a story?"

"I'm kind of doing research on my own. It's for my degree."

Lucas rolls his eyes, "Hope you get an A."

"Is it okay if I ask you some questions?"

"I guess. I'm not going anywhere."

"You're involved in a gang called the Rivals, correct?"

"No. I was only stupid enough to get involved with one of `im," he motions to Stryker, "He's back there if you wanna talk to him."

"Actually, that's who I want to talk to** you** about. Willis Stryker made a bargin with the authorities. He'll get his sentence reduced if he testifies against you."

"Sonny Caputo got a better lawyer than me."

"Did you know members of the Rivals have initimidated the man Stryker assaulted in pressing charges against you?"

"Yeah, what the hell am I supposed to do about that? Better yet, what the hell are you going to do about that?"

"I'm trying to help you here. I'm really interested in inner-city problems."

"It's real nice when rich white kids are interested in our problems."

Jessica sighs and continues, "Do you know anything about the crime syndicate running operations with the gangs of New York? I believe Willis might be involved along with the rest of the Rivals."

"Nah. I don't know anything about that."

"What about the theory that some major corporations and political figures have been linked to -"

The baliff loudly announces, "All rise. The honorable Judge Roy Thomas presiding." Everyone stands to their feet. Jessica slips away to the back while nodding to Luke. The judge begins the session.

Carl sits quietly as his defendant pleads his case, "Mr. Lucas has no prior records. What happened was a series of circumstances that..." Later, the prosecutor has Stryker on the stand, "... And what happened then?". Stryker looks innocently at the jury, "Then Carl pulled a knife and just stabbed me." Lucas glares at him as he continues to testify, "I knew I shouldn't have followed him that night." Hours later, the jury returns from their reccess.

"Have you reached a verdict?," the judge asks.

"We have, your honor. On the charge of assault with a deadly weapon, we find the defendant guilty on all counts. On the charge of breaking and entering, we also find the defendant guilty"

Lucas hangs his head silently. Jessica Jones watches sadly. Soon, he is brought before the judge, "Mr. Lucas, although you have been charged as an adult, you are still very young and this is your first and hopefully last offense. You claim you were trying to raise money for your grandmother who is ill. It is for these reasons the court hereby sentences you to a minimum of eight years in prison with a chance for parole in five years," he slams the gabble down as Lucas is taken away by two guards, "Court dismissed."

Lucas looks back as Stryker is led away by officers. He smiles and winks as the door is closed behind him. Lucas fumes with rage while the balif moves him along.


	4. Chapter 4

An armored van carries several prisoners down the highway. Lucas sits in the back, staring out the window silently. The van pulls off to an exit and then into a gated area. Seagate Prison looms ahead. It is a small facility with concrete walls lined with barbed wire and armed guards stationed in towers above them. Lucas looks out the window, noticing the sign **SEAGATE PRISON **and sees that underneath is a corporate logo: Syndyne LTD.

"Hey, this isn't the state pen," one of the prisoners says as he also notices, "What the hell is Syndyne?"

"A business. I heard Seagate's a privately owned prison," another man sneers, "Looks like Uncle Sam doesn't wanna pay our rent anymore."

Lucas places his clothes in a box and hands it over to a seated guard. Next, he showers alongside other new prisoners. He comes out in a prison uniform along with the other inmates and stands in line in front of a row of cells. Two men stand behind him. One is thin with short blonde hair and the other is more muscular and has reddish hair.

"You're Carl Lucas, ain't ya," the blonde one asks.

"Who's asking?," Lucas responds dryly.

"I'm Tom Stuart and this is my brother, Tim," he motions to the muscular man behind him, "We're friends of Willis Stryker."

Lucas looks down and notices both men have identical dagger tattoos on their right hands, just like Stryker and other members of their gang.

"That's right," Tim shows off his tattoo, "Rivals."

"Too bad Stryker didn't get sent to Seagate. You could've had a reunion," Lucas turns back around.

"Y'know, on the outside, they called me 'Stiletto'," Tom tells him him, "Know why?"

"You liked to wear women's shoes?"

"I was the best there was with a knife," he whispers into his ear, "Better watch your ass, Lucas."

A portly guard storms down the hall with two more guards following him. He wears a nametag that says **Rackham. A** on his lapel. He stands in front of the new inmates, staring them down before he begins, "Listen up, I am Albert Rackham and I am the head guard at Seagate Prison. Pay attention to everything that I tell you and it will make my job easier. If my job is easy, I will at least treat you like human beings. I will call your name and you will come forward to receive your cell number." He looks at his clipboard, "Bendis, Brian!" A prisoner steps up and a guard motions him toward his ceel. "Goodwin, Archie!," another prisoner steps forward and he's sent to his cell. "Lucas, Carl!," Lucas steps forward. Rackham takes a look at his clipboard and back at Lucas, "Wait, is your first name Lucas or Carl?".

"I can see how that might confuse you," Lucas says with a wry smile, "My first name can be a last name and my last name can be a first -"

He's interrupted by a punch to the stomach. Lucas falls to his knees and doubles over in pain. The Stuart brothers both chuckle to themselves as he tries to breathe. Rackham stands over him, "Your are whatever I wanna call you, son! Get this through your head! This ain't some pansy federal prison! It's been bought and owned so we can play by our own rules! You're in my 'hood' now! Your ass belongs to me for however long they wanna see you rot! You better not even take a dump without my say-so, you got me?"

"Yeah," Lucas croaks, "So who do I talk to when I need to wipe?"

The other prisoners laugh. Rackham motions to one of the guards who drags Lucas away to his cell. As he's carried off, Rackham turns to the other inmates, "Laugh it up, idiots! That's as entertaining as it gets around here!"

Lucas is thrown into his cell and the door is slammed shut. In the distance, he can still hear Rackham shouting the name of the next inmate, "Romita, John". Lucas rubs his stomach in pain and lays down on his cot. "Gonna be a long seven years," he says to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Days later, Lucas is in the cafeteria, standing in line with a metal tray as other inmates get their meals. He looks around the cafeteria, surveying his surroundings; a smart move considering his new home. In the distance, he spots Tim and Tom Stuart whispering to each other. He pretends he doesn't see them as he gets his meal. Slowly, they begin to approach from two different angles. Lucas takes his food and begins to leave the line as he attempts to keep them both in his line of vision without it being obvious.

Tim stands off to the side and shouts, "Hey, Lucas!". Lucas immediately diverts his attention away from him and toward Tom who sneaks in quickly, pulling something from his pocket. Lucas only catches the briefest glimpse of the homemade shiv between his thumb and forefinger before he takes a swing with his metal tray, clocking Tom in the mouth hard enough to knock him down. Tim flies at Lucas, slamming him against a table, the prisoners quickly getting out of their seats. While on the floor, Tom checks his mouth, noticing a tooth has been knocked out. Meanwhile, the guards rush onto the scene along with Rackham. Lucas punches Tim and shoves him away just before the guards restrain everyone and pick Tom off the floor. "Can't stay out of trouble, can ya Luke?," Rackham asks. "It's Lucas," he says as the guards pull him out of the cafeteria.

**Ryker's Island...**

A pair of hands grasp a pull-up bar, a familiar dagger tattoo on the right one. Willis Stryker does a few chin-ups as he excercises in the prison's gym. Another inmate approaches.

"Hey, Stryker."

Stryker drops from the bar and turns to him.

"They found Carl Lucas at Seagate."

"Yeah?"

"He's still alive."

Stryker shakes his head, "Damn."

**Empire State University... **

The campus architecture, like most modern universities, pays tribute to gothic cathedrals and medieval castles despite functionality and the time period. Dr. Noah Burstein, a middle aged man with glasses and gray hair, addresses a lecture hall filled with grad-students. A lab table sits in front of him with several pieces of equipment and a large screen behind him. On the screen, is a blueprint design of a nanobot: a mite-like machanical robot with multiple legs.

"While accessible nanotechnology is still years away. We have just begun to learn its full capability. If current theories hold, we are looking at complete molecular reassembly; the ability to reform matter to an unknown degree. Recently, we have crafted a single nanobot the size of a dust particle," Burstein flips a switch on his microscope, shinning a light on a slide. The screen displays the image of one of these mechanical devices, projected for the entire class to see. The gold-colored machine twitches under the slide as the students marvel at its design. "That's our little metal mite," Bustein says affectionatly, "With one, single nanobot, we were able to reposition the cell cluster of a house plant. Imagine what could be accomplished with millions of them," the screen depicts cancer slides, "If this technology were applied to medical science, we could see an end to cancer and a number of other illnesses," the diagrams change to human diagrams depicting cancer eradication, "These devices could be inserted into a person and completely rewrite their genetic code, eradicating defects and illness, replacing weak cells with stronger ones." Noah turns to the rest of the class, "You would be looking at the perfect human being... or possibly something beyond."

A student raises his hand, "How far along are we until we can safely use human studies?"

"Due to the current budget, several years, unfortunately."

Another student asks, "What are the potential hazards?"

"Well, if something were to go wrong, there could be a variety of affects. Anything from melting into a puddle of goo... to solidifying into a metallic state, unable to move. Or possibly just getting impenetrable skin. As you can see, these are good reasons why we're not too quick to use live test subjects."

As the class is dismissed, Burstein gathers his things. A man in a suit approaches. This man is tall, large, and a few years younger than Burstein. This is John McIver, a Carribean businessman.

"Dr. Noah Burstein?," he asks with a somewhat thick accent.

"Yes?"

"My name is John McIver," he extends his hand, "I'm the head of McIver International."

"Oh, yes. Your people contacted me a few weeks ago. Apparently you're looking to sponsor my research."

"Yes. I know you've declined our offer so I thought I would come here in person to discuss the matter with you."

"Mr. McIver, I'm sorry but I'm not interested in working for a manufacturing company."

"We are looking to expand our business to include medical technology, though. I've personally read up on your research and I believe it is the future of medicine."

"It is," Burstein starts toward the door while awkwardly carrying his things, "But I receive a great deal of funding from the university already."

"How much?"

"They give me what they can."

"Tell me, doctor. If you received proper funding, how soon would you be able to have this technology ready for human study?"

"I'd say about five years."

"I can give it to you. The money will go only to your research. You won't even have to stop teaching if you don't want to. Would you be interested?"

"Do you have that kind of money to spare?"

"Yes. We consider your work to be very valuable and are willing to pour fudning into the project. Whatever the cost."

"It may be a lot."

"You can still say no and I promise, no more visits. If you say yes, however, we can talk prices and I can probably come up with a suitable allowance."

"Wow... So let's talk prices."


	6. Chapter 6

**Years Later...**

Cage sits in his cell, reading. He is now bald with a goatee and a few more years under his belt. A guard stops by and hands him an envelope between the bars, "Carl Lucas... letter." Lucas sits up and takes the envelope, slipping the letter out of the small package to read. After a few moments, his expression turns to distress and then sadness. He drops the note to the floor and buries his head in his hands. The letter on the floor reads: "_Mr. Lucas, We regret to inform you of the passing of your grandmother..."._

At Empire State University, Burstein is busy in his lab which is filled with state-of-the-art technology. He looks through a microscope at a cluster of nanos moving under a slide. McIver approaches, "Dr. Burstein, how goes it?". Burstein turns away from his work and shakes his hand.

"I think we're finally there," he says excitedly, "Give us a few more days and we'll be ready for a test subject."

"Just what I needed to hear. I've been in contact with Seagate Prison recently. They are wanting to start a rehabilitation program, using volunteers for medical testing. I told them you might be interested."

"Yeah. That's great. Has anyone volunteered yet?"

"They said they'd let us know."

Later that night, at Seagate, the guards begin to shut off the lights in the cell block. "Lights out," one of them calls. Lucas remains sitting on his cot with his head hung low. Rackham passes by and stops when he notices Lucas' mood.

"Aw, now what do we got here? Don't tell me our old pal Carl is feeling down. Did they run out of your favorite food in the cafeteria?"

"Not today, 'Billy-Bob'. I'm not in the mood."

Albert leans in close to the bars, "Did forget your place all of a sudden? You've been in here for what... five years now? You still don't know how to behave?"

Lucas approaches the bars, "Hit the bricks, Rackham."

"Or maybe your momma didn't teach you manners?"

Lucas reaches his hand through the bars just enough to grab Rackham's tie then pulls him forward, slamming his face against the metal. Rackham falls onto his backside with a bloody nose. "You... You son of a...," Rackham can barely form a coherent sentence as he staggers to his feet. A few more guards approach, "Open his cell!," he shouts as he pulls out his baton, "We're teaching him some manners!". The other guards follow suit as they open Lucas' cell and rush inside.

The next day, Lucas stands in his cell. His eye is swollen, his lip is cut, and there's a large bruise on his cheek. His door opens and he's led out by two guards. They bring him down the length of a hallway while he wears handcuffs. Moments later, he arrives at the Warden's office. "Hello, Mr. Lucas. I'm Gerry Reynolds, the warden at Seagate," he shakes his hand, "Have a seat." Lucas takes a seat in front of the desk.

"First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother passing away."

"Thanks," Lucas gazes around the office but barely pays any attention to the warden.

"Secondly, our head guard, Albert Rackham, was out of line for what he did to you last night. You should know he's being suspended for his actions. Still, you should keep in mind you're up for parole. You don't want to screw that up do you?"

Lucas doesn't respond.

"Listen, the prison has a new rehabilitation program," he slides a contract across his desk along with a pen, "There's a proffessor from Empire State University doing medical experiments. It's a minor procedure from what I've heard. He just needs someone to run a few tests on. If you volunteered, we could get you on parole."

Lucas still does not respond.

"And if this is about Rackham, remember, he's suspended. So uh,... we can put all of this behind us, right?"

Lucas looks down at the contract.

"C'mon. It's easy parole. A few needles and you can kick your feet up in front of the TV. What do you say?"

Lucas shrugs, "Like I even care anymore," and signs the contract.


	7. Chapter 7

Burstein and McIver arrive at Seagate and are lead through a cell block with a few guards and assistants wheeling heavy equipment behind them. Lucas, meanwhile is prepped in the prison's medical facility with alcohol swabs as the warden speaks with him, "I told the gentlemen that you were attacked by inmates. I thought that would be the simplest explanation." Lucas shakes his head silently. Soon, they enter the room.

"You must be Carl. I'm Noah Burstein."

"Hey," shakes his hand, uninterested.

"Mr. Lucas," McIver greets him next, "I'm John McIver. Thank you for participating. My company is overseeing this project and you've been a big help."

"Where are you from?," Lucas asks as he hears his Carribean accent.

"All over."

"What kinda business you in?"

"Oh, I have business all over too."

Burstein and his assistants unload the equipment. "Let me tell you about the procedure," he begins, "It's not as complicated as it looks." The warden and McIver begin to talk in low tones to one another and leave the room. Lucas watches as they close the door behind them with some curiosity but his attention is soon drawn away. Burstein opens his laptop, showing an image of a nanobot, "This is what we'll be inserting into you."

"You're gonna put that thing inside me?"

"Actually, we'll put millions of them inside you," Burstein laughs.

An assistant opens a storge chest and takes out a cylindrical container with plastic tubes running from top to bottom wrapped around it. These tubes are filled with a golden, metallic substance that appears to shift by itself. "These are nanos. Think of them as tiny robots. Once they go in, they'll find whatever problems you might have in your body and fix them."

The assistant connects the container onto the back of a metal slab large enough to fit a full grown man. An identical but empty container is fitted beside it. "After they go in and do what they need to do... they're coming out, right?," Lucas asks nervously.

"Oh yes," Burstein indicates the empty container on the other side of the slab, "They're programmed to return to the empty cylinder you see to the left. If they stayed inside your body, they would keep working exponentially."

"Meaning?"

"They'll keep making your body stronger and healthier to the point where you probably wouldn't even be able to move."

An assistant stands next to Lucas and prepares a needle, "Okay, now what's this?"

"We're giving you a nasty case of the flu," Burstein explains happily as they begin to give him the shot.

"The flu?"

"Yes, in order to see if the nanos work, we need to make you sick. They'll go in, repair your body, then come back out."

"Worst case scenerio?"

"The nanos don't work and you get sick for a few days," Burstein places a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "The best case scenerio is that your flu symptoms will be cured... possibly for life. Heck, the nanos will probably take care of those cuts and bruises while they're at it."

"That's good. I need to be pretty again. In prison, it's very important" Lucas says with a laugh. Burstein joins him.

"We're ready, Prof. Burstein," one of the assistants tells him.

"After you, Mr. Lucas."

Meanwhile, Rackham is in the lockeroom, gathering his things. He angrily stuffs his uniform into his locker and slams the door shut. Another guard sits in the shadows, having a cigarette, "Shame what happened to you, Rackham."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm new. Just started here but I heard what happened. An inmate disrespects you like that and you're the one who has to pay the price? A shame."

"Yeah, those people get the royal treatment sometimes, huh?"

"You know he's up for parole? They got him in some kind of medical program. He's getting tests run upstairs right now."

"Yeah, he's a labrat now. Hope whatever they do to him, it hurts like Hell."

"Y'know, all sorts of things could happen. Those experiments... I'm sure accidents happen all the time. Someone could get disfigured or worse pretty easily with just one little mistake. Hell, Carl Lucas could die on the table tonight and people would almost expect it," the man puts the cigarette out and walks away, "Take care of yourself, Rackham."

Rackham stays behind, reopens his locker, and stares at his uniform.


	8. Chapter 8

Lucas is now on the slab, strapped in at his waist, wrists, head, and ankles. The cylinder filled with nanobots sits to his right as an assistant connections the plastic tubes to an IV and inserts it into Luca's arm. Another IV is inserted into his left arm and connected to the empty cylinder on his left.

"How are you feeling so far?," Burstein asks.

"Kinda sick," Lucas explains.

"It's just the drug we gave you. The nanobots will soon take care of that."

"Hope so."

"Are you ready?"

"Let's do this," he rests his head back as much as possible under the restraints.

"Let's make history."

The assistant presses a button above one of the plastic tubes on the cylinder. The golden substance inside is sucked up into the IV where it flows directly into Lucas' arm. He closes his eyes tightly and clenches his teeth as his veins throb. Burstein checks his vital signs on a nearby monitor, "Everything seems to be fine, Mr. Lucas. Relax." Lucas' eyes open as the swelling and bruises on his face vanish, soon followed by the cut on his lip. He smiles slightly, feeling better almost immediately before the nanobots are flushed into the empty cylinder next to him. Burstein checks the monitors, "The nanos are out of your system and everything appears to be perfectly healthy," he turns to Lucas, "And it seems as though your bruises have healed after all. Congratulations, Mr. Lucas." An assistant shows him a mirror, "Wow. It actually works."

Outside the medical facility, a guard stands watch. Rackham, now back in uniform with a holstered gun, approaches him.

"Rackham, what're you doing here? I thought you were suspended," the guard asks.

"My suspension starts tomorrow," he stammers, "The warden wanted me up here to keep an eye on things. Listen, why don't you take a break. I can handle it for an hour or so."

"Sure. Thanks."

The guard leaves and Rackham watches to make sure he's gone before he peaks inside the room. Lucas sits up as the assistants check his heartrate.

"How do you feel?"

"I don't feel sick anymore, that's for sure."

"Great. If you don't mind, we'll keep you here overnight and monitor your vital signs. It might not be the most comfortabl bed in the world."

"Beats sleeping on a hard cot."

"So we'll just finish up here and see you in the morning, then. I understand there's a guard just outside the door in case you need anything."

"I don't think he's there in case I need anything but thanks anyway."

Minutes later, Burstein and his assistants leave the room. Rackham waits until they're completely gone before sneaking inside and, once there, locking the door behind him. Lucas lay in the chamber, still strapped in with the monitors reading his vital signs. Rackham silently watches, making sure Lucas is sleeping before getting close. He takes a look at the two cylinders and the IV's, smiling devlishly. He takes the IV from the empty cylinder, hesitates for a moment, and jabs it into his arm. Lucas screams as he jolts awake.

"Jesus!," he takes a look at Rackham, "Rackham, what the hell are you doing, man? You're -"

"Suspended? I know," he moves to the other side of Lucas, taking the second IV, "I just came up here to play doctor."

Lucas tries to break free from his restraints but can't, "Help! Help!". Rackham jabs the second IV into his arm, making him yell once again. "Let's take care of that mouth of yours," Rackham snatches some medical tape and gauze from a nearby cabinet. "Rackham, don't do this. This ain't -." Rackham shoves the guaze into his mouth and slaps a piece of tape over it.

"Looks like I finally got you to shut up," he sneers. Lucas struggles against the restraints more as he tries desperately to call for help. Rackham takes another look at the buttons on top of the cylinder. "Let's see what happens when you get an overdose of this stuff," he tells him and slams his fist down. Lucas watches in terror as three tubes of nanobots are sucked into the IV and fed directly into his body. His veins pop out and he begins to convulse. Rackham presses his thumb against another button and then another. Lucas' muscles in his arms and chest begin to inflate, slightly tearing his shirt. The monitor shows his heartrate increasing rapidly. His eyes tighten shut and he jerks his head back painfully, still trying to scream through his gag. Rackham presses the final button.

The tube of nanos are drained into the IV and sucked through a plastic tube until it hits his bloodstream where cells fly past the swarm of gold mites flowing through his body. The metallic devices float through his cellular structure, attatching themselves to entire strains of DNA. Golden energy detatches the strains, reattatching them in different shapes, changing their color in the process. Once finished, the nanobots fly back through his body, leaving a golden trail of energy that flows trough his veins, eventually causing the iris in his eyes to briefly turn gold before returning to their natural color. The tubes on the empty cylinder are quickly filled, one after another, as the nanobots make their exit. Soon, every nanobot leaves his system.

Lucas jerks back, nearly ripping the metal restraint on his right wrist. Rackham jumps and when the metal restraints around Lucas' ankles also seem to giveway, takes several steps back. As Lucas struggles, the slab bends and buckles under his weight. He eventually rips his hand free, slamming it against the wall where it hits the wires of the overhead lamp, shorting it out and darkening the room. Rackham stares with disbelief as sparks fly and the remaining restraints are popped off, one after another. Lucas pulls the gag off his mouth and stumbles to the side where he reaches a sink. He places his hands against it to brace himself, but ends up pulling it completely off the wall, sending chunks of plaster and granite to the floor.

Now in a state of panic, Rackham pulls his gun and fires a single shot. The bulet hits Lucas in the shoulder, pushing him against the wall but also bouncing off, sending a spark after it. Lucas turns and another shot is fired at his chest which also bounces off with a spark. Rackham takes a closer look and sees that Lucas' shirt has a hole in it but the skin underneath is unharmed. Lucas stumbles forward and Rackham fires another shot which hits him square in the forehead. Lucas' head snaps back but he turns to the prison guard without a scratch. Delirious, Lucas stumbles through the room where he finally falls against the wall... which he smashes through, falling out into the hallway along with a great deal of debris. Guards quickly come rushing as Rackham exits the room through the door and races down the hall.

The guard that was previously stationed at the medical facility is the first to arrive, coming onto the scene just in time to witness Rackham bolting toward him, gun still in hand. "Rackham! Freeze!," he shouts and raises his own weapon. Rackham stops dead in his tracks, raising his gun out of instinct.

Lucas hears the gunshot, rolls over onto his back, and loses consciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

The Pulse is a news site with their headquarters in New York. Inside, Jessica Jones, now a full-time reporter, darts through the corridor to the editor-in-chief's office. "Excuse me," she exclaims as she squeezes past a fellow reporter on her way, then ends up bumping into a second worker, accidently spilling his papers on the floor. "Sorry," she says as she quickly scoops up some papers as she goes and tosses them back at the worker. The editor-in-chief is James J. Johnson. He is a middle-aged man, thin with a mustache and short hair.

Jessica barges into his office without even knocking, "Mr. Johnson, I just got word from one of my sources. We need to get to Seagate Prison ASAP."

"Yes, Ms. Jones, come into my office. I'm glad you knocked," he groans sarcastically.

Jessica turns, knocks on his open door mockingly, and continues, "There's been an accident at Seagate Prison."

"First of all... Seagate Prison. Why does that sound familiar?"

"It's a corporate-owned prison. We did an expose' on them a while back."

"Okay, And what sort of accident are we talking about here?"

"Apparently, it had something to do with a medical experiment. My source believes it might have been an attempted homicide. We're fuzzy on the details right now."

"Medical experiments? At a prison?"

"Yes, there's a program concerning prison volunteers submitting to medical testing for parole."

"So what happened?"

"A prisoner was undergoing an experiment and somehow, it went wrong and now he's in the hospital. Some believe a disgruntled guard was involved."

"Let's look into it."

"And, sir?"

"Yes?"

"I really believe this is the work of a crime syndicate. There are just too many -"

"Not that conspiracy nonsense again. You've been on that since you were an intern here."

"I think we need to look a little further into this is all."

"Jessica, I hired you because, even as a college student, you had the perfect instincts for a reporter. I mean, most interns are content with just making coffee but you actually went out and got stories... even when you weren't supposed to. You're smart but you can't buy into every corporate conspiracy theory you hear... Especially when many of those corporations keep us in business."

"Fine," she says disappointingly.

"Go to Seagate, get the story, and we'll see where it goes from there."

Lucas' eyes open. His blurry vision finally focuses on the three figures looming above him. There, he sees the Warden, Noah Burstein, and John McIver.

"I guess I'm not dead," Lucas sits up, "That's a plus."

"You're in the hospital now," the Warden tells him, "You had a hell of a night."

"What happened? Where's Rackham? Last I remember -"

"He was shot, unfortunately," he explains, "After he interfered with the experiment, he made a run for it and apparently drew a gun on another guard."

"What did he do to me?"

"Well, you don't seem to have suffered any ill-effects."

"More than that," Burstein adds, "In a way, Rackham did you a favor. From all indications, you're several times stronger now. The nanos worked better than expected."

"What?"

"You put a hole straight through my wall," the Warden tells him, "But don't worry, Mr. McIver here has agreed to pay for the damage."

"It's no problem," he smiles.

"Thankfully, the process wasn't fatal," Burstein continues, "If the nanos did not leave your body, there would have been a problem."

"Yeah, I remember you mentioning something about that," Lucas looks at his hand and clenches his fist, "So,... I'm some kind of superhuman now?"

"It seems that way," Burstein explains, "We've no way of knowing the full extent of what the nanobots did to you at this point. To be honest, I'd like to complete the tests if you're still interested."

"You mean the program's still on?"

"If you're still interested, I'd like you to come work for me" McIver explains, "I understand you're still up for parole. We've obviously made a breakthrough last night and Prof. Burstein needs to continue his work. Certainly, there's been a... misfortunte and I understand if you'd like to stop."

Warden turns to him, "How about it, Carl? The doctors say you can leave anytime you feel up to it and I can have you in front of the Parole Board this afternoon. After that, you're working for Mr. McIver."

Lucas flexes his arm in bewilderment, "Yeah, why not?"

Lucas leaves the hospital room along with two guards and the Warden with handcuffs around his wrists. He turns to ask the Warden a question, "So exactly how strong am I now?" and as he does so, he accidently snaps the handcuffs. He stops dead in his tracks and everyone stares at the cuffs in disbelief; the guards gazing back up at him. He shrugs and smiles nervously. "Oh, that's how strong I am." "Apparently," the Warden gasps then to the guards and whispers, "Keep a close eye on him until we get him back, huh?" The guards, now wide-eyed, nod silently.


	10. Chapter 10

Lucas stands in front of the Parole Board later that afternoon, as promised. They stamp his file, releasing him. "Thank you," he smiles and minutes later, he is released from Seagate Prison. He looks up at the towering building as the electronic gate closes behind him. He waits until the guard leaves before reaching out, touching the fence with the tips of his fingers. He twists, casually snapping a piece of it off between his fingers and takes a look. "Wow," he mutters and continues to the car waiting nearby. He gets in the back with McIver next to him.

"Ready to visit your new apartment?"

"Can we make a stop along the way?"

"Sure thing. Where would you like to go?"

Lucas arrives in a graveyard with McIver waiting behind him. He kneels in front of a tombstone and lays some flowers on his grandmother's grave. "I love you, granny," he says and the two leave.

"So sad about your grandmother," McIver tells him.

"Thanks."

"I'm sure you must be very angry right now. You're not sure what you want to do."

"I ain't angry. She used to tell me how everything that happens is God's plan or whatever. I'll ride this thing out. I'm on parole and I got a job. Other than that, I have my health and more."

"Much more," McIver nods and leads him back to the car.

Jessica Jones walks through a cellblock along with the Warden at Seagate Prison. They pass several cells as they talk, Jessica recording his statements as they go.

"So the medical experiment was carried out by a Prof. Burstein, working for a man named John McIver?"

"Yes."

"So what can you tell me about the medical experiments?"

"I'm not entirely sure. You'll have to ask Prof. Burstein."

"So you allowed your prisoners to undergo medical treatments that you were not fully aware of?"

"No... they volunteered," he states defensively, "As part of a rehabilitation program, I might add."

"And this program did not take into account the actions of a guard attempting to murder a prisoner?"

"Albert Rackham was on suspension and has since been killed, Ms. Jones."

"I see. Just one more question: What company sponsors Seagate Prison."

"The Syndyne Corporation," the Warden becomes increasingly annoyed.

"And who owns them?"

"Ms. Jones, I am very busy. I have no time for this," he motions to a guard, "The guard will see you out."

"Thanks for your time."

As Jessica is led out, she passes a cell with Tim and Tom Stuart. They leer at her as she walks by, smirking to one another. "Hey, y'know it's my brother's birthday," Tim shouts, "Wanna give him a present?". They both laugh. She never looks at them.

Willis Stryker is brought in to the visiting room at Ryker's Island. Sonny Caputo sits on the other side of the plexiglass, holding the reciever.

"Hey, Sonny. What's up, man?".

"Carl Lucas just made parole."

"What? Hell no!"

"Don't worry. I hear he's moving back to Harlem."

"Is he gonna get a visit?"

"Apparently, the boss has other plans in mind."

"So we're still taking orders, huh?"

"Yeah. Sit tight."

"What else am I gonna do in here?"

"Well,... You won't be in here forever. You still owe us a favor, remember."

In Harlem, Lucas enters his new apartment. It's old and very small but he seems content. McIver follows him in, looking less pleased.

"The state gave you such a small apartment. I could set you up with a better place. Much bigger than this."

"It's fine. I like being back in my old neighborhood."

"I see. A car will be picking you up in the morning to take you to Burstein's labratory. Make sure you're ready."

"All right."

McIver begins to leave but stops, "And what about the gang who put you away?"

"The Rivals?"

"They tried to kill you in prison, yeah?"

"Yeah,... tried."

"You might want to be careful. They may come after you out here."

"I'm not worried. Doesn't seem like too many things can hurt me."

The next morning, Lucas is placing his hand over a bunsen burner in Burstein's lab. He waves his hand over the tip of the flame, moving back and forth without flinching.

"Nothing?," Burstein asks.

"Nah, I don't feel a thing."

"Can I increase the flame?"

"Go ahead."

Burstein turns up the heat, making the flame go higher. Lucas' entire hand is now inside it but still unhurt, "Still nothing". Burstein increases the temperature a little bit more, turning the flame blue. "Ah," Lucas exclaims and pulls back, "Felt it that time." Burstein takes notes.

A little while later, Burstein preps Lucas while holding a syringe.

"I'll just take a little blood sample," Burstein brings the needle against his arm, "You probably won't even feel -," he stops suddenly.

"What's wrong?"

He holds up a bent syringe, "The needle broke."

"Lemme see that," Lucas reaches for it but shatters the syringe once he takes hold. "Sorry," he apologizes, "Still don't know how strong I am." Burstein nods and decides upon the next test.

Lucas and Burstein are now in the university gym with several athletes working out around them. He lays on a bench with a bar filled with weights above his head. "Whenever you're ready," Burstein explains. Lucas lifts, casually hefting hundreds of pounds over his head. Burstein gawks at him and those working out around them stop to stare. "This is nothing," Lucas admits. "We're gonna need more weight," Burstein motions for him to come along.

They stand outside in the parking lot, a large SUV sitting in front of them. Lucas rubs his neck and looks over the vehicle. "Whenever you're ready," Burstein says casually as he takes notes. "Okay, let's see what I can do," Lucas stoops down, placing both arms under the SUV.

He lifts with his knees, slowly taking the entire vehicle into his arms. The tires begin to lift off the ground and Burstein's jaw drops. Lucas grunts loudly as he stands up, lifting the entire SUV off the ground. He bites his lower lip, straining to hold it at chest level. "I got it!," Lucas holds it up awkwardly while Burstein quickly scirbbles in his notes.

"I-I can't believe this," he exclaims, "This is phenominal. I've never seen anything like -"

"Can I put this damn thing down now?"

"Oh, oh yes!"

Lucas places the SUV back on the ground and takes another look at his arms, "You must really trust me if you let me handle your car like that."

"Oh, this isn't my car," Burstein continues writing notes.

"It's... What?"

Later, they walk across campus. "So professor, what's the verdict?"

"As far as I can see, your skin is almost indestructible. Your strength, obviously, is beyond human capability."

"So is it temporary? Will it go away?"

"So far, it would seem it's permanent. The nanos were designed to completely rewrite your genetic code. I don't see this fading away."

"Crazy."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know... I mean, it's not everyday you get super strength, y'know? What do you think I should do with it?"

"I think you're the only person qualified to answer that question at the moment."


	11. Chapter 11

They make it back to Burstein's lab, only to find Jessica Jones waiting by the door. "May I help you?," Burstein asks. She turns and extends a hand.

"Hello, I'm Jessica Jones. I'm with the Pulse. I'm looking for a Noah Burstein."

"You've come to the right place," he tells her as he shakes her hand.

"Carl Lucas," he shakes her hand next and her eyes brighten.

"Oh God, I know you," she exclaims, "I met you while you were on trial. The Willis Stryker incident, right?"

"Yeah, I remember you now. The student trying to get an interview."

"And were you sent to Seagate Prison? You just got off on parole?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That's a helluva a coincidence. You're the reason why I'm here. I need you guys to tel me everything about the experiment conducted at Seagate."

They move into the lab where they sit down.

"... and the nanos seem to have gifted Mr. Lucas with a great deal of strength and durability," Burstein explains.

"And what can you tell me about this John McIver?"

"He runs a manufacturing company. He has been finding my research for the past five years but I honestly don't see much of him."

"Carl, the last time I spoke to you, I mentioned that the gangs in New York might have connections with some major corporations. For instance, many members of the Rivals have been sent to Seagate Prison which is owned by Syndyne. Were you aware of this?"

"Yeah, a few of `em were in the joint. Tried to kill me, actually."

"And do you know whether or not John McIver might be involved with Seagate?"

"He started the rehabilitation program but otherwise, I haven't heard anything."

"Thank you for your time, gentlemen," Jessica hands them business cards, "I'll probably check in again if I have further questions but feel free to call me if you learn anything."

"This is just your business number," Lucas says with a smirk.

"That's right," she says with a slight glare, "Just my business number."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just..."

"Five years in prison is a long time," she reassures him, "Don't worry about it," with that, she begins to leave.

"Wait a second."

"Yeah?"

"When I met you, I acted like a punk, didn't I?"

"Little bit," she smiles and closes the door behind her.

That night, a bank sits quietly on a street corner. The customers and workers are long gone and the sidewalk itself is empty. For New York, it's extremely quiet. That is, until an explosion rips out the inside of the bank, blasting a large hole through the wall. Flames roar inside and rubble is scattered across the street. A group of men in black masks exit the hole in the wall with duffel bags filled with money. They quickly scramble into a black van and pull away.

Seconds later, a squad car rounds the corner, sirens and lights blaring. The driver of the van looks out his rearview mirror and sees the car getting closer. "We got company!," he shouts to the men in the back. One of them opens the back-hatch and another quickly hands him a stick of dynamite. The fuse is lit and the stick is dropped onto the street where the police officer tries his best to dart out of the way just as it rolls beside his cruiser. It explodes, sending the cop car sideways into the air where it crashes on top of a parked car. The back-hatch of the van closes with the men roaring with laughter; it flies down the street, undisturbed.

The next day, the Chief of Police issues a press conference outside his precinct. "Last night, a group of unidentified men robbed a bank in upper Manhatten using explosives which they also brandished against an officer in his squad car. Luckily, that officer survived the crash but rest assured, these men will be found. They were possibly responsible for a similar bank robbery last month involving explosives and heavy artillery. So far, we are unaware of how they acquired these weapons or the identity of these suspects. The New York police department is placing a bounty for their apprehension. Three thousand dollars will be paid for each of these men alive. We are looking for some brave men or women to help us out. We're sure they're out there."


	12. Chapter 12

John McIver enters the police precinct and is led to the Chief of Police's office. "I am John McIver," he shakes his hand, "I contacted you earlier?"

"Yeah. So you think your lab experiment can help us catch bank robbers?"

"Carl Lucas can give you your men."

"Typically, we give these jobs to professional bounty hunters. He's untrained."

"He's also bulletproof."

"Well, we're not too excited about civilians doing police work, even if they are bulletproof," he points to a map which has the areas pinpointed, "Still, we have a good idea as to where they might hit next. If we use Lucas, it will be on our terms. Got it?"

"Sure."

"I'm surprised a man as wealthy as you would be so interested in collecting this bounty."

"Let's just say I have a keen eye for business."

"I'll need his consent, obviously."

"That won't be a problem."

Lucas is inside his apartment with John McIver. "Whoa, there's a problem here."

"Carl, remember, you are bulletproof. Dr. Burstein said there is very little that can hurt you."

"Putting my hand over a burner is one thing. Stopping a bank robbery is something else."

"Think about how this will look to the parole board. Stopping a robbery is a huge community service. You may get your sentence reduced."

"... Really?"

"They already told me they would try to make it happen."

"So... how much is this bounty anyway?"

"Three thousand dollars per person. The police believe there are about five or six of them."

"That's... a lot of money."

"Well, I would still take a portion of it as your manager. Still, you'll walk away with quite a bit. We can discuss particulars later."

"And the cops? Where are they while people shoot at me?"

"They'll ll be there too so no worries. You'll just be catching bullets. That is, if they even show up at all."

"Well... I've been lucky so far. What's the worst that could happen?"

The bank has a large lobby. Clerks sit at their desks while tellers help customers behind the counter. Lucas stands watch in a security guard jacket and hat. He places a finger against an earpiece as he listens to the officer on the other end, "Remember, if you see them, just distract them. If they take a hostage, stand down." "Got it the first time," he whispers into his lapel.

Across the street, John McIver sits on a bench and calmly sips a cup of coffee; thoughtfully, he checks his watch and takes another sip. Not far away, an undercover cop talks quietly into his phone, "No signs of the perps, yet." "This is the second time we've been here and I've been waiting all day," Lucas tells them, "Maybe they won't be hitting this bank."

As if on cue, a black van pulls up to the bank and five men jump out, each wearing black ski masks and carrying automatic weapons. Two of these men carry a large duffel bag between them. The undercover cop quickly brings his phone up to his ear, "All units acknowledge, suspects are moving in!" The men burst into the bank, waving their weapons in the air. "Nobody move," the head robber announces as everyone in the bank raises their hands, "I'm sure you all know exactly what this is." One robber waves a gun at Lucas, "Hands up. We don't want any heroes." He complies. The two men with the duffel bag quickly move into the back where they see a vault. Another gunman brings the tellers out from behind the counter, "Let's go! On the floor!". The final gunman checks the civilians, "Good job, people! This will all be over soon." The gunman watching Lucas notices he doesn't have a gun. "What kind of a security guard doesn't have a gun?," he asks. Lucas shrugs.

Several police squad cars pull up on the bank, the officers getting out and taking cover behind their cruisers with their guns drawn. The gunman moves away from Lucas and takes a look out the door. "Damn. The cops are already here," he exclaims. The lead robber shouts to the two men in the back, "Let's get a move on it!" The men in the back quickly tape dynamite to the vault door, preparing to blast it open.

With no one left to watch him, Lucas clamly strides forward, tossing his security guard hat to the side "Alright, This is where I come in." The remaining three gunmen train their weapons on him. "Easy," Lucas raises his hands, "Look, this jacket isn't mine. So, I'm just gonna take it off before we begin. They'll probably get mad if it gets bullet holes in it." The three men look at each other curiously as Lucas calmly places his hands on his lapels and slowly slips the jacket from his shoulders. "Just taking off the jacket," he tells them as it drops.

"Get on the ground!," the lead gunman shouts.

"I can't," he tells them.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm supposed to distract you a little bit longer until the cops can get in here."

The three men open fire with their automatic weapons. The bullets hit Lucas, ripping his shirt apart. The two men at the vault hear the gunfire and quickly leave, bag in hand. The men continue to fire as the bullets deflect off Lucas' chest, sending sparks everywhere. All at once, they stop firing when they realize their target is unharmed. Lucas staggers back from the force of the bullets and takes a look at his shirt which is now almost completely off, "The shirt was mine, by the way." In his earpiece, he can hear the officer shout, "Do not engage! Repeat, do not -". He quickly takes it out while muttering, "Sorry, you're breaking up," and tosses it to the floor.

He darts forward, dropping his shoulder as he spears one of them in the gut before throwing him overhead. The gunman does a full flip before hitting the floor. The two gunmen with the bag stare with disbelief at Lucas' strength. He kicks another robber in the chest which sends him across the room and over a clerk's desk. The men in the back drop the bag on the lobby floor and open it, revelaing a large grenade launcher. The final gunman raises his rifle at near point-blank range but Lucas snatches it with one hand and slams his fist against it with the other, breaking it in half. The two men load the grenade launcher quickly. Lucas shoves the palm of his hand against the gunman's chest, sending him into the tellers' counter. He turns just in time to see a grenade launcher being pointed in his direction.

"Christmas!"

The grenade is fired, blasting off across the lobby until it connects with Lucas where it explodes, sending him through the glass door and across the street. Outside, officers scramble out of the way as he hits a squad car with enough force to topple it onto its side. The robbers use the diversion to quickly dart through the smoke and debris. Once they get to the sidewalk, they stop dead in their tracks. Lucas rises behind the over turned cruiser, still unhurt, smoke billowing from his chest. He angrily kicks the car, knocking it out of the way so he has a clear shot at the robbers. They raise their hands and surrender as officers swarm them. McIver smiles as he watches from his bench.

Several minutes later, the robbers are lead away by the police. The officers congratulate Lucas and when he turns around, he is caught in the flash of several cameras. "So this is the today's hero, huh? How does it feel?," one of the reporters shouts. "What?," Lucas asks in bewilderment. "Hey, over here," Lucas turns as another reporter snaps a photo. "So what's your name? What'd we call ya?," another asks. "Uh...," before he can answer, McIver sweeps in, taking him by the arm. "I will make an exclusive announcement soon, ladies and gentlemen," he assures them and quickly leads Lucas away. They try to follow but the police block their path.

"What was that all about?," Lucas asks, "Who called the press?"

"I did," McIver tells him, "With something this big, it's good to get the media on your side with an early photo op. Otherwise, they'll decide you're bad news. It's just for the company's image. You don't need to worry."

"I guess. Man, that was crazy back there. Fighting the bank robbers, I mean."

"It was amazing. I think you have a knack for this sort of thing, Carl."

"Honestly, it was pretty fun."

"Perhaps we could use this opportunity for the business. Take up some more bounties. You get more hours of community service, we put some criminals away..."

"So what, I turn into some hero-for-hire?"

"Tell me it doesn't sound more fun than sitting in a lab with Dr. Burstein. You'll still be working for me, of course but you might as well have some fun with it."

"I'm keeping busy either way, I guess."

"And it will go toward your community service."

"Sounds even better."

"The only thing is, and don't take this the wrong way, some people might not like the idea of hiring a bounty hunter who was a convicted felon. Carl Lucas has a record. It might be suitable to use an alias."

"What do you want to call me?"

"How about a nice superhero-sounding name. How about... Powerman."

"No. Hell no!"

"It would be good for business."

"Hey, you don't want me to be Carl Lucas, I got no problem with that. I'll go under a different name but I'm not gonna be called something that stupid. I mean, you already have me as your labrat in a cage, I'm..."

"What?"

"Yeah, I think I know what you can call me."

"Yes?"

"Luke Cage."


	13. Chapter 13

A news reporter gives an account of the foiled bank robbery. Behind her, workers repair the damaged bank and several officers investigate. "I am at the scene of what could have been yet another bank robbery, the third in a recent series of robberies believed to have been the work of a five-man band weilding dangerous explosives." As she gives the report, the news is shown in a prison rec center at Rykers Island, "The robbery was stopped by New York police and the help of this man," a picture of Lucas appears on the screen, "A super-powered bounty hunter calling himself Luke Cage." A few inmates look at the screen curiously, "Cage is under the employ of millionaire John McIver and promises to offer his services to those in need."

"Hey Stryker," one of the inmates calls out, "Isn't that the guy who put you away, man?" Willis Stryker sits up and notices Lucas on the TV, "Damn."

At Burstein's lab the next day, the professor checks Cage's heart with a stethiscope, "I saw you on TV this morning."

"McIver didn't tell you about that?"

"No,... I suppose it has little to do with me."

"Whatcha think?"

"I think you're about to become a celebrity."

"I guess. Hey, I can get a little extra cash and finish my community service doing this, right? Besides, I'm putting bad guys away."

Burstein places the stethiscope around his neck and laughs, "Well, as long as you remain in one piece so I have a mostly-living body for research."

"Don't worry," Cage smiles, "I don't think I'm in any danger."

Cage walks into the police precinct and then the Chief of Police's office, "What do you have for me?". The chief gladly hands him a few files. "These are all fugitives with outstanding warrants," he informs him, "You'll find lists of their possible wherebouts and their rap sheets."

"Cool. Hey, did you guys find out where the bank robbers were from?"

"Turns out, they were all escaped convicts. Bought their weapons from some black market dealers in South America. You don't have to worry about them now. Your part's done."

"Yeah, looks like I'm gonna keep busy," Cage takes a look at the stack of papers in his hand.

"Yep. Bring them in and the money's yours."

Cage looks over the files, "Make sure you have plenty of room in jail."

Cage walks down a sidewalk in New York, ready for action. He knocks on a hotel room door. "Are you Johnny?," he asks the young man who answers the door. "Yeah?" "You have a warrant for your arrest". The man quickly bolts through the room, opening the back window and slipping out into a vacant lot where he tries to run. Moments later, Cage rams straight through the wall, sending debris flying and knocking the man down from the force. He looks up as Cage descends upon him. Later that day, Cage runs into the living room of a rundown house. The two men inside quickly pull guns from under their couch and take aim, only for Cage to stretch his arms out, clothes-lining both of them to the floor. A third gunman emerges from a different room and opens fire with a sawed-off shotgun, blasting a huge hole through Cage's shirt. He looks at him angrily, prompting the gunman to quickly surrender. A man plays pool in a dodgy bar. Cage approaches, "You have an outstanding warrant. I'm here to take you in." The man eyes Cage, "You a cop?" "Not exactly." The man scoffs and returns to his game of pool, "Then how the hell do you expect to bring me in?" Cage snatches the cue ball and squeezes, crumbling it into dust, "I got a few ideas." That night, another suspect sprints down the sidewalk with Cage in hot pursuit. Finally, he catches up with him, tackling him to the ground. Roughly, an hour later, he is placed in a holding cell along with the other suspects Cage had collected that day. The Chief of Police gladly pays him in cash, "Nice work, Cage." "Anytime."

The next day, he is in a car dealership. He points to a yellow Dodge Challenger, pays in cash, and drives it off the lot. Later, he shops for nicer clothes and likewise wears them out of the store.

A reporter approaches random citizens for man-on-the-street interviews. The first interviewee is a middle aged man, "It's good to know there's someone out there cleaning up the streets, y'know? He's strong but he's just a regular guy like us". The next person offers a different view, "Luke Cage is just a hired thug. Why can't the cops do their own jobs?". Finally, a group of teenage girls are interviewed, one of which, exclaims, "I think he's hot".

A group of teenage boys watch the security footage of Luke Cage foiling the bank robbery. "Watch this! Watch this!," one yells just before Cage kicks one of the robbers over the desk. The boys shout in excitement.

A late night comedian addresses his audience. "So have you heard about this guy, Luke Cage?" A few women in the audience cheer. "I'll assume that cheer was for me," the audience laughs, "But no, apparently, the New York police department have hired an actual superhero to help them. Yeah, and apparently, his first mission was a big one: collect all the donuts in the tri-state area." The audience members laugh.

John McIver appears on a news program, "Yes, of course Luke Cage is popular. He's bigger than Iron Man right now but the important thing is, he's here to help."

A New York club at night. Cage arrives in his new car, even parking it in front on the street. He wears a leather jacket and shades as he briefly poses for a few paparazzis. The bouncers let him in ahead of the line and once he enters, several people greet him. One young, attractive woman runs up to him, "Hey Luke, will you sign `im?". She lifts up her top and going by Cage's wide-eyed reaction, has nothing underneath. "Someone get me a marker!," he shouts, "Don't rush!"

Jessica Jones sits at her desk, typing an article when Johnson rushes to her. She immediately stops typing and gives him her full attention. "Luke Cage," he shouts, "Are we on this?".

"Yes. Remember the Seagate Prison experiment?"

"Yeah."

"I've been on the story since then."

"Good," he stammers, "Be sure to interview him."

"Already have."

"Oh... When?"

"About a week ago."

"Can you -"

"Already on that."

"Nice work, Ms. Jones," he quickly leaves her desk.

Tim and Tom Stuart are brought into the visitation room at Seagate Prison. They both sit down and notice Sonny Caputo on the other side of the glass.

"Sonny," Tim says happily, "My man!"

"We got some big plans for the two of you."

"Plans? We don't get out for a few more years," Tom says curiously.

"Don't worry `bout that. You both failed to carry out a mission a few years back. Do you remember?"

"Carl Lucas," Tim growls bitterly.

"That's right," Sonny leans in, "How would you like another shot?"


	14. Chapter 14

Cage walks down the sidewalk in Harlem, stopping when his phone rings, "Hello?"

"It's Jessica Jones from the Pulse."

"Hey. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I noticed you've gotten pretty popular recently."

"It's crazy, right? I'm even getting recognized on the street."

"Well, I've been doing some research. Remember how Seagate Prison is owned by Syndyne? Well, guess who owns that company?"

"Who?"

"Your boss, John McIver," Jessica looks at a photo on her computer monitor showing McIver and the heads of Syndyne, "It'ss a subsidiary of McIver International."

"Huh. Didn't know that. Wonder why he didn't tell me."

"Probably because he wants to keep you on the payroll. You're good for the image of his business. Why do you think he asked you to have a stage name?"

"I guess that's how it works. I'll ask him about it when I have time."

"Look, I'm really worried about where this might be going. I don't trust Syndyne and I don't trust your boss."

"You're worried about me, huh?"

"I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Be careful, Carl. Or should I call you Cage, now?"

"Call me whatever you like."

"Heh. I'm serious. McIver isn't trustworthy."

"C'mon. He's giving me a steady job. That's all I ask. He has me doing PR work, fine. It's not like I gotta make an ass out of myself doing commercials or anything."

Then comes the commercial. Cage is on a stage wearing a yellow and blue spandex outfit complete with silver cuffs around his wrists and a belt made of chains. He holds an energy drink in his hand, thrusting toward the camera while screaming, "Drink Power-Thirst. The sports drink that gives you POWWWEEERRRR!" Cue the logo and massive, orgasmic explosions, followed by a poorly rendered CGI lion. "Cut," the director calls out, "That's a rap". Cage tosses the energy drink to a stage hand and immediately begins taking off the costume.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," he tells McIver as he approaches.

"Relax. I know the CEO of this company. I did him a favor once, so I owed him. Besides, it keeps you in the spotlight. It's all a part of your community service, remember?"

"Yeah. Think I'd rather be in prison than do another one of these."

"Fine. No more commercials."

"By the way, what do you know about Syndyne?"

"What? Why do you ask?"

"There's a rumor you own that company. Just something I heard."

"My company once financed it as a subsidiary but that was a long time ago. I don't have much of anything to do with them any longer."

"Huh. Okay."

"At any rate, I have a new assignment for you. This one comes all the way from the FBI."

"Wow. We're moving up from police work?"

"Seems so. There is a drug smuggler in New York named Anton DeWitt," McIver hands him a photo of DeWitt, "He has been moving back and forth from South America. The FBI know of his wherebouts but their hands are currently tied in red tape. Due to a loophole, a private operative can give him to them. The only thing is, you have to catch him in the act. Try to get as much evidence as possible before you move in. They will be in the area to bring him in if you catch him."

Cage looks at the photo, "Give me 24 hours."

It's night. DeWitt comes out of a shady hotel with a briefcase. He checks the area and quickly moves down the street. Cage rounds the corner and follows him. Several minutes later, DeWitt comes to a condemned building and quickly goes inside. Cage notices a skylight on the roof and runs to the rear of the building where he ascends up a fire escape; once he comes to the roof, he looks inside.

A few lights hang from the ceiling, casting only a small amount of light on the men standing around a table. The men on one end all wield guns. Anton places the briefcase on the table and flips it open, exposing a few pounds of cocaine. Cage activaters the GPS on his phone, "Let's see how fast you boys can get here," he says to himself. "Straight from Columbia as promised," Anton tells them. Cage begins to take pictures as one of the men prepares to test the drug. "That should do it," Cage says aloud, shoves the camera in his jacket, and then jumps.

The glass shatters as Cage plummets through the skyline, hitting the concrete hard enough to crack it under his shoes. The men spin around, asking no questions as they open fire. Bullets hit him, forcing him back as sparks fly but he does not fall. He dashes forward, hurling one of them across the room, then backhands another one into the wall behind them. Meanwhile, Anton scrambles to put his drugs back in his briefcase. Cage raises two gunmen into the air and slams them together before dropping them. Anton takes his briefcase and bolts for the door. Cage notices this and kicks the table, sending it through the air where it hits him in the back, knocking him down. He groans and climbs out from under the table, looking back just in time to see Cage dispatching the last of his associates. A moment later, he is snatched up and pinned him down as Cage shows him a picture of himself on his phone.

"This you?," he asks.

"Y-Yes," Anton replies.

"Good," he scrolls down, showing the reward money, "This is how much money I'm gonna make when I bring you in."

"What?"

"Thought you might like to know. You have a pretty sweet price on your head. It's impressive. I mean, I've caught quite a few guys so far and this is the highest I've been paid yet. Should be an honor for you."

"Who... Who are you?"

"Luke Cage, who do you think?"

Anton laughs, "Ah man, I should've known it was you. I saw you on TV."

"Uh... thanks?"

"I'm probably going to prison, huh?"

"Yeah, basically."

"Ah well, won't be the first time."

Later, they stand outside the building, Cage holding his arms behind his back. "The feds should be showing up, soon," Cage tells him.

"Look man, I got some information for you."

"For me? Why're you giving me information."

"You're from Harlem, right? I grew up there. I like you and you need to know something."

"Okay, whatcha got?"

"I heard weapons are on the street."

"No kidding. A lotta people got weapons. Your boys in there got weapons."

"Not like these. Think about it, Cage. What was your first case? Taking out some bank robbers with dynamite and a damn rocket launcher? Where'd they get those, man? Think about it. There's probably more ot come."

Two black cars pull up. Federal agents rush out of one car and into the building, guns drawn, to arrest the dealers inside. Meanwhile, two more agents move toward Anton. "FBI, Mr. Cage," one agent explains as he shows his badge, "Thank you for your help. We'll take it from here." They take Anton away and before he is placed in the backseat of the car, he gives Cage a warning look. Cage watches them go silently.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day, Cage sits on his couch, watching TV. He sees his energy drink commercial and cringes when he hears himself shout "The energy drink that gives you PPOOOWWWEEERRR!". As it turns out, the commercial was a clip shown on an entertainment talk show. Once the clip is over, the host chuckles, "Wow, with the amount of criminals Luke Cage has been putting away, I'm surprised he had to stoop this low. I guess crime-fighting doesn't pay." He rolls his eyes and turns off the TV, then leaves his apartment to go to his car, only for a teenage boy to approach him as he gets in, "Hey, you're Cage, right?".

Cage turns and smiles, "Yeah, man."

"How much that car cost?"

"A lot."

"Man, my parents can't even make rent. You're supposed to be from Harlem. Why aren't you helping us more?"

He shakes his head and walks away, leaving a contemplative Cage. Shortly after that, Cage arrives at a local orphanagae where a few nuns play with children in a playground. When one of them notices Cage, she leaves their side and walks to the chainlink fence, "Can I help you?". Cage nods and motions toward his car, "Yeah, I'd like to make a donation."

That night, he shows up at the club once again. He still dresses fashionably but has relegated himself to walking up to the front entrance. The bouncer at the door takes a look at him curiously, "Cage, man, where's your car?". Cage shrugs, "I gave it away." The bouncer shakes his head in disbelief; and as Cage tries to enter, he quickly holds up his hand, "Sorry man, there's too many people in there already. Place is packed tonight," then when he notices the look on Cage's face, raises his hands defensively and blurts out, "It's management rules, man. I got nothing to do with it." Cage waves him off, "Yeah, man. I'll see you later." As he walks away, a random group of party-goers notice him and one of them shouts, "It gives you PPPOOOWWWEER!," making his friends erupt in laughter. Cage hangs his head and continues on.

McIver International headquarters, the next day. The building is tall with a MCI logo at the top and a sloped rooftop. Inside, McIver's office sits within a larger executive suite. Burstein enters to great a seated McIver, "You wanted to see me?," he asks. McIver turns at his desk, "Yes. Have a seat." Burstein sits opposite him.

"How far along are you on the nanobots research?"

"Well, I've gone back to formula since the Carl Lucas incident."

"Why don't we hold off doing that for the time being?"

"Why?"

"I've spoken to Seagate Prison and they're still interested in the rehabilitation program."

"There are no other experiments to be performed at the moment. The nanobots are flawed. I need to know for sure if it's safe to continue."

"Your tests on Carl Lucas, how are they? Is he in any pain? Are there any problems?"

"No, there aren't any problems... besides the obvious."

"Having indestructible skin and increased strength is not an obvious problem in my opinion."

"Yes but if we don't change the experiment, it could lead to more subjects gaining those abilities."

"That is something I'm well aware of."

Burstein stands up, "Am I to understand that you want this to happen? You're looking for another -"

"Luke Cage has proven to be very lucrative. Having more people like him on the payroll is just good business."

"I don't believe it. I did not agree to this! This was never about any sort of medical breakthroughs, was it? You were actually hoping for someone like Carl Lucas to come along so you could exploit him."

"Exploit is a rather ugly word, no? Did you notice him on TV? Did you see how much fun he was having?"

"You realize that Mr. Lucas could also be a fluke? Assuming I wanted to help you, the next person infused with nanobots could end up with a number of ailments."

"I am willing to take that risk."

"I'm not."

McIver stands up, glaring, "As long as you work for me, that will be the direction of your research! Is that understood?"

"You don't own the patent to this technology. You can't dictate what direction it takes."

"But I fund it. If you do not give me control, then the money is gone and without the money, you would lose years of development."

Burstein takes a step back, shocked at the outburst before finally walking toward the door, "That is a sacrifice I am willing to make, Mr. McIver," and with that, he leaves the office.

Cage walks through Empire State University campus and later enters Burstein's lab but doesn't see the professor. Eventually, he finds him at his office. "Dr. Burstein?," he pokes his head inside, "I'm due at the lab, right?" Burstein looks up from his desk with a bittersweet smile.

"Hasn't he told you? I quit."

"What?"

"I stopped working for McIver. Quite frankly, if I were you, I'd find a way to do the same."

"Why?"

"McIver had others plans for this technology... and you?"

"Me?"

"He wants to make more of you and he plans to use the Seagate Prison rehabilitation program to do it. It's my belief he was always wanting to create someone like you. His interest in medical experiments was just a lie."

Cage sighs, "Jessica Jones was right."

Burstein walks across the office and motions to the gold container of nanobots on his shelf, "This is all that's left of my research. A jar of tiny little robots. Without his funding, my work will fall behind and I may never be able to recover."

"Don't worry, Doc. We'll find a way. Just keep working. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do."


	16. Chapter 16

Cage walks home now that he no longer has a car. As he comes to a bus stop, he notices some men harassing a young woman; they grab her and try to pull her away as she shouts for help. He quickly approaches them, "Hey, the hell you think you're doing?". At once, they turn and one of the men shouts, "Yo, take off!"

"Let her go."

"You're Luke Cage, right?," one of them asks as he steps forward.

"That's right."

"Man, you ain't as big as you are on TV. We ain't afraid of you."

"Well, then you're dumber than you look."

The girl uses the distraction to run away. The young men let her go, now turning their attention to Cage, crowding around him menacingly. Undaunted, he notices that all of them have dagger tattoos on their right hands, an indication they belong to a familiar gang.

"You boys belong to the Rivals?"

"Maybe we do. You got beef?," they crowd in closer.

"Yeah, I got beef."

The man turns, laughs to his friends, then snaps back, throwing a punch which connects against Cage's jaw. This results in Cage not flinching at all and the young man screaming in pain as he shatters his fist. He shrinks back, clutching his hand in pain as his friends rush him away. They hop in their nearby car as Cage raises his hands invitingly, "Hey, where you goi'n? I thought you weren't afraid." Tires squeal and the car pulls away. Cage quickly follows on foot, leaping onto the trunk of a parked car, running over the vehicle, and finally leaping high into the air, his super strength propelling him very far.

The men in the car suddenly hear and feel something hit the roof as it caves in partway. Outside the car, Cage holds on. He raises a fist, digging it into the roof behind the windshield. The men inside scream as a hand makes its way into the cab and pulls, peeling the metal back, creating a large hole in the top of the car, just enough to show his face, "Stop the car!" The driver screams and swerves the car back and forth across the street. Cage almost loses his grip as he is yanked around, making the hole much larger. He grabs hold with both hands just before the car makes a sharp turn, almost spilling him into the street. A piece of metal breaks lose in his grip and he nearly falls off, grabbing the side of the car instead. He now faces the driver's side window, "I said stop the car! You hard of hearing?". The driver looks ahead and notices a bus coming in the opposite direction. He smiles and swerves toward it. "Sweet Christmas," Cage mutters just as the bus hits him. The back of his head is scraped along the side of the bus, shooting sparks as he grunts loudly. Finally, the bus knocks him loose and he is flung into the air and directly into the path of a semitruck. He shouts just before the truck hits him, completely demolishing its front end and sending Cage down the road where he bounces off the pavement, taking a chunk of granite with him. The young men in the car look back to see Cage's location, not noticing where they're going. A car side-swipes them, making them spin around in a complete circle before hitting a stop sign; bringing them to a halt. Cage picks himself up and rubs his chin, "Oh yeah... Almost forgot what that felt like."

The driver in the car shakes his head, attempting to fight disorientation. His friends check themselves and look up in time to notice Cage walking in their direction. "Start the car! Start the car!," they shout. Before the driver has the opportunity to do so, Cage slams his fist through the hood and jerks, completely ripping it off and tossing it to the sidewalk. Then he places both hands onto the sides of the engine and pulls with all his might, eventuallly ripping it out of the car as well. It is dropped on the pavement at his feet, cracking the ground underneath. He glares at the frightened men inside, "I'm not gona tell you a third time." The men quickly scramble out of the car and onto the ground, apologizing profusely. A group of people quickly gather around him, taking pictures and video with their phones.

"Hey Cage," one of them asks, "Did these guys have a bounty of their heads?"

"Nah. This one's free."

The next day, Cage recieves a phone call.

"Hello?"

He hears a familiar voice, "I saw a video of you on the internet."

"Oh, hello Mr. McIver."

"You beat up some gangsters in Harlem?"

"Yeah, they were -"

"We don't need to go around looking for action. We have to be delicate with the battles we choose."

"I didn't go looking for anything. I just caught some Rivals on the street."

"Look, Cage, I understand you have some anger toward the Rivals but I run a business. I provide services. I did not hire you as a free agent. You should have walked away from the situation."

"What, and let them do God knows what to some girl?"

"You could have called the police."

"Trust me. I know that neighborhood. The cops would not show up."

"You shouldn't have gotten involved."

"If I see something going down, I'm getting involved."

"Cage -"

"And what's this I hear about you wanting to continue Burstein's experiments? You want some more Luke Cages running around or something?"

"Have you spoken to Burstein recently?"

"Yeah. He told me what you're planning."

McIver's door opens. He looks up from his desk and extends a finger to the figures coming into his office. "Cage, I'm afraid I'll have to continue this later."

"No, we're gonna talk about this now."

"Need I remind you that if you want to remain on parole, you need to stay employed."

"I'm well aware of that!"

"Good," McIver hangs up.

Cage angrily drops his phone and paces around his apartment.

McIver turns in his chair to the figures sitting on the other side of his desk and calmly folds his hands in front of him, "Please try to call next time." Across his desk sits Sonny Caputo and two of his cronies.

"Cage rolled a few of our boys yesterday."

"I know. Trust me, it's been taken care of."

"We promised not to take revenge so you could make bank. If Cage goes after us, we go after Cage."

"Mr. Caputo,... Sonny, our deal is still on. Don't be impatient."

"I need to know I can trust you."

"You can and I'm willing to prove it," McIver leans in, "I promised I would get your friends out of prison, didn't I? I plan to make good on that."

"Now you're talking."


	17. Chapter 17

Meanwhile, at the Pulse headquarters, Jessica Jones' phone rings...

"Hello?"

Cage is on the other end, "Jessica, it's Carl Lucas."

"Don't you mean Luke Cage?"

"Whatever. I have some information for you."

"Yeah? I was meaning to tell you my article is finished. I'll be sending it to my editor later this afternoon. I mentioned the McIver/Syndyne connection as well as your incarceration at Seagate. I thought you should know so there won't be any surprises."

"Don't send it just yet. There's one more thing you need to know. You were right about McIver. He's wanting to continue his experiements at Seagate. He wants to turn Luke Cage into a franchise."

"What does Dr. Burstein have to say about this?"

"Burstein quit the project. Meanwhile, my hands are kinda tied at the moment. I'm on parole. I gotta stay in the company or go back to Seagate."

"Geez, that is big," she quickly begins to jot down notes on a nearby notepad, "Thank you for calling me about this."

"You can thank me over dinner tonight."

Jessica is taken aback, "Carl, I -"

"C'mon, let me take you out to dinner just once."

She sighs, "You know my article might land your boss in hot water, right? I'm honestly not sure what would happen to you."

"At this point, I don't care. You've been there for me and besides, when I first met you, I was kind of a punk to you but you still tried to help me anyway. Lemme make it up to you."

She thinks for a moment, "Nothing noisy. I saw some of the clubs you've been going to."

"No clubs. No crowds. Just you and me tomorrow night."

She thinks for a moment, "Sure."

"That's what I like to hear."

"I'll text you directions to my place. Pick me up at eight?"

"Eight o' clock."

"Goodbye, Luke Cage."

"See you then."

A cell door opens. Tim and Tom Stuart are lead out by guards who handcuff them. "What's this?," Tim asks but the guards say nothing; only marching them down the cellblock and outside in the yard, still within the bounds of the gate. There, they leave them and quietly go back inside. The brothers look at each other curiously, only to have two men throw black bags over their heads and drag them away. Hours later, they are thrown into chairs in a dark room. The bags are stripped away and the two brothers notice Sonny Caputo at the other end of the table.

"Sonny?," Tom stammers, "How the hell...?"

"I told you we have connections. That's all you need to know," he reaches across the table with a key, unlocking their handcuffs, "You'll like this. Follow me."

They follow him through a back room where several guns hang along the walls and on the counter in front of them, more weapons are laid out for display. Sonny approaches, hefting one into his hands: a wrist-mounted canon. "These weapons were designed for the military from what I hear. Our connection has been sitting on the prototypes," He slips the launcher on his forearm, "This thing can fire razors strong enough to slice through almost anything." He turns and aims it at the wood mannequin at the far end of the room. He cocks his wrist, firing a single blade that sticks inside it. He sets the weapon down, "There are also darts with explosives and toxic gases in them. Tom, you were called 'Stilleto' back in the day. I figured you'd be good with a different kind of blade." Next, he takes them to the other side of the counter with several metallic discs lined up. "Hey Tim, you ever see the game discus," he recieves a blank stare. "Frisbee? I dunno what you white boys play." Tim nods, "Yeah, I know frisbee." Sonny holds a disc, flipping a switch as several blades pop out of the sides. He throws the disc across the room where it takes the head off the wood mannequin. "They were supposed to cut up armored vehicles," he informs him. Tim picks one up, flipping a switch which emits a red light and a thin whine. Sonny quickly snatches it out of his hand and turns it off, "And those are explosive, man." he warns.

"My man, you came through," Tim clasps hands with Sonny, "So what do we do with all this?"

"First, we go to Ryker's Island and get Willis Stryker out of prison."

Ryker's Island. Night. Willis Stryker sits in his cell, casually tossing a deck of cards at a hat. Outside, a black speedboat makes its way to the rear of the island. Two figures in black masks and dark body suits quickly get out, making their way to the outside fence of the prison. The men pull their masks back, revealing the faces of Tim and Tom Stuart. They are now decked out in the gear given to them by Caputo. Tom wears the wrist-mounted stiletto launchers with spare blades straped to his forearms and legs. Tim wears bandoliers with his discs sheathed in leather. They look over a map of Ryker's Island prison with a red circle indicating Stryker's cell. "We're in the right place," Tom whispers.

They move along the fence and eventually come to a stop. Tom loads his launchers and fires, ripping the fence apart. Once a large section of the fence is torn away, Tim holds a disc in his hands, pressing a sidebutton. A red light shines and there is a thin whine before he hurls the disc at the outer wall. Once it connects, it explodes, blasting a hole straight through to the inner pipes of the prison. Inside, several guards and inmates turn their attentions to the sound, the guards quickly racing toward the commotion. Stryker curiously leans against the bars in his cell as he watches another explosion tear a hole through the wall across from him. Tim and Tom race through, taking aim at the bars. "What the...?," is the only thing he manages to say. "Take a step back, Willis," Tim warns before him before taking two discs in each hand. When he presses their buttons, blades pop out of the sides and he immediately begins slashing at the bars, taking them apart bit by bit. A few guards race down the hall toward them, only for Tom to fire his blades, taking them out before they can raises their guns. Tim kicks the weakened bars in, allowing Willis to get out. "Hurry up," Tom shouts as Tim leads him back through the hole in the wall. A few guards stand on the platform above them and take aim with rifles but Tom fires a few more blades, striking them, their bodies falling over the railing. Outside, they quickly make their way to the speedboat as an alarm sounds across the island. A search light shines down in their direction but they are already speeding away.

Stryker smiles to himself silently as they pass over the dark waters.


	18. Chapter 18

A news anchor gives a report on TV, complete with footage of Ryker's Island "While some inmates have tried to break-out, Ryker's Island has received a break-in. Two unidentified men using high-tech weaponry released a prisoner late last night," a picture of Willis Stryker appears on the screen. Cage sits up at attention from his couch. "This man, Willis Stryker, was sentenced to six years after a failed robbery attempt. Sources say he is part of a notorious New York gang known as the Rivals." Cage turns off the TV and stares in silent determination; this is followed by him checking his watch and getting off the couch.

Hours later, Jessica and Cage enter a nice restaurant. He politely pulls a chair out for her to sit in before taking a seat himself. Jessica smiles at the display of chivalry, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I may have a record but my grandmother taught me manners. It's the reason why I don't cuss."

"She seemed like a sweet lady."

"Nah, she was mean as Hell," he laughs, "Easily twice as scary as the guys I've put away."

"I can see why you did what you did, though. You wanted to help her."

"Yeah, she raised me. My mom and dad died when I was young. She was all I had. I guess I was pretty stupid for what I did but I wanted to help her out. Also why I was such a punk when you met me."

"No, you weren't a punk."

"I was. I was a real punk."

"I didn't expect you to be in a good mood, all things considered."

"So what's up with you, anyway? You were trying to get the scoop when you were barely out of high school."

"I guess I get it from my father. We was a worrkaholic... to the chagrin of my family. He wasn't around much but he provided. My mother was involved with her job as well and since I was an only child, I had myself to keep company. I read a lot. I studided a lot."

"I can tell."

"Yeah, not many interns are out trying to get stories. It landed me a job fresh out of college, though. My student loans are almost completely paid off so it works out for me."

"But what do you do for fun?"

"Doing things for fun? You mean like having a social life? Oh, I have no idea what that's like. In fact, as boring as I am, I'm surprised you'd be interested."

"Eh, I've seen too many interesting things. My life is too interesting right now so I could stand to be a little boring."

"Y'know, my article is going out tomorrow. I can almost gaurantee that all this publicity you've been enjoying will go away overnight. The public will know you're a convicted felon and McIver... who knows what he'll do."

"All that hype and all that fame wasn't worth it anyway. It's straight. I want to do the right thing and this is it."

"I think your grandmother would be proud."

"Thank you."

He walks her to her apartment later that night. They walk closely, side by side without saying anything, both very content to enjoy the brief silence. She walks up to her stoop with him remaining on the sidewalk.

"Thank you for walking me home."

"Thank you for not minding that I gave my car away."

"That's one of the reasons why I'll agree to a second date."

Cage makes his way up the stoop, "It wasn't my charm, or my dashing good looks?"

"Well, those helped."

They look in each others' eyes and kiss. From across the street, a person watches while in the shadows. He turns away and dials a number. Soon, McIver picks up his reciever while in his office.

"Yes?"

"Cage has a girlfriend," the man in shadows explains, "It's a reporter by the name of Jessica Jones. She works for the Pulse."

"And?"

"She's writing an article. Looks like she's been snooping around Seagate Prison."

McIver contemplates this for a moment, "Contact the Rivals. See what they can do," and hangs up the phone.

Stryker is brought into the weapon's room along with the Stuart brothers. He sees Sonny Caputo and quickly wraps his arms around him, "Sonny! What's up, baby? When you said you had connections, I didn't know how far they went!"

"Yeah, we got some help."

"My ass, we got help!," Stryker takes a look at the weapons surrounding him, "We got a damn army!"

"Remember when I said you had to make it up to me when you went to prison?"

"Yeah, man. Whatever you need."

"Follow me."

Sonny leads Stryker into the backroom. Once there, his eyes widen. The first thing he sees is the helmet on the floor: a metal skull cap that covers the cheekbones and has a bridge along the nose. Behind it sits a pair of metal boots with metal leg braces leading to a harness that wraps around the chest and back with reinforcements at the shoulders. The shoulder plates connect to arm braces leading to metal gauntlets. At the wrists are twin chambers housing metal coils wrapped around a reel. Stryker takes a look at the silver exoskeleton with delight.

"Tell me I'm gonna wear this."

"Yeah. This company had a prototype built. They called it the Constrictor. See the coils?," Sonny unwinds the coils from a chamber, stretching it out, "They can be used for almost anything: weapons, climbing, whatever you need. Too expensive for the Army so we got the only one."

"So when do I get to use it?"

"Later. We don't know if you're ready for the next mission. That's why I'm sending the brothers out. Our connection wants someone taken care of. Hopefully, we'll get Carl Lucas too."

Tom Stuart smiles, "Can't wait."


	19. Chapter 19

Jessica Jones comes into the office at the Pulse along with other reporters, greeting them as she sits at her desk. At the entrance to the building, two figures in dark coats walk into the lobby, briskly moving to the elevators. Johnson walks through the office, looking over some paperwork. Behind him, the elevator doors open. Tim and Tom Stuart rush out, dropping their coats, displaying their black uniforms and high-tech weapons; Tim shoves Johnson into the office, on top of a desk. Jessica stands up at attention as Tom waves his wrist-launchers at the crowd, "Everyone get on the ground, now!" Jessica and the rest of the people in the office comply. Tim rushes into the next room and shouts, "Into the office! Move! You think we're play'n?", he flips a disc into his hand, extending the blades. He corrals them into the office, brutally shoving a few as they go. With his brother covering everyone, he quickly rushes down the stairs, moving to the front doors of the lobby where he locks them. Upstairs, Johnson tries to rise to his feet, "What's this about?". Tom shoves him aside and moves through the frightened crowd until he reaches Jessica Jones. He smiles and pulls her up to her feet.

Just then, Tim enters the room, "You got her?".

"Yeah, I got her," he turns to one of the office workers, "Oh, you can call the cops now."

Police squad cars race through a Manhatten street, eventually coming to a screetching halt in front of the Pulse. Tom looks down at them from the top story. "They're here," he calls to his brother. Tim puts his foot through a window, breaking it. He then takes a disc from his belt and presses a side button, igniting a red light as a thin whine emits from it. Then, he hurls the disc out the window where it is embedded in the hood of a squad car. The officers quickly exit the vehicle moments before it explodes in a massive fireball. Tom loads his wrist launcher and cackles gleefully as he fires a few blades through the windshield of another squad car. As the cops gather themselves, the brothers drape a tarp out the window with a message: **WE WANT LUKE CAGE.**

Cage gets a call on his phone and right when he picks up, he hears McIver, "We need you at the Pulse."

Several minutes later, Cage arrives on the scene. The police have it sectioned off and several bystanders stand outside the building. As he approaches, they cheer loudly for him and a few reporters snap pictures. He barely acknowledges them, instead, fixing his gaze at the top floor of the building. Inside, Tom peaks out a window, "It's him!".

Cage enters the lobby and heads toward the stairwell. He carefully walks up the steps, heading toward the top floor. Tom bursts through the door of the second floor, entering the stairwell and opening fire, "Payback time, asshole!". Cage raises his hands as the razors shred through his jacket and shirt but otherwise, do no harm. Cage braces himself by clutching the banister and finally gets a good look at his assailant. "Tom Stuart, that you?," he calls out. Tim dashes into the stairwell behind his brother, "Remember me too, Lucas?", and hurls a bladed disc, slicing the banister in front of Cage. Tom continues to fire the blades as Tim throws a second disc, slicing through the part of the banister behind Cage, forcing him to break it away and fall to the bottom floor where he lands hard enough to crack the tiles. Tom loads a dart into his launcher and fires it. Cage raises his head just in time to see the dart strike the floor directly in front of his face, exploding a second later in a cloud of gas. Cage arches back, clutching his eyes painfully as the brothers retreat into the main part of the building. Cage rises, rubbing his eyes as his vision becomes blurry.

On the top floor, Tim and Tom rush in, waving their weapons. "Okay, show's over!," Tim shouts. "Everyone out!," Tim continues as he pulls one worker to his feet and pushes him out the door. Tim follows up by pulling two more people to their feet. Getting the message, everyone quickly scrambles for the exit. Jessica gets up but Tom quickly snatches her, "Not you." Johnson notices this and turns back, "Jessica!". Tim pushes him out the door along with everyone else, "Move your ass, old man!". As Cage makes it out of the stairwell, he is met with a flood of running, screaming civilians. He jumps back as they rush past him, quickly moving to the stairs. He shakes his head as they shove around him, his vision still a bit of a blur from the gas. Outside, the hostages rush out to the awaiting cops who try their best to contain the paniced crowd.

Cage continues on his way just in time to see Tom loading his launchers with two more darts. He fires one, which emits a small explosive charge that slams Cage against the wall. He fires another which blasts Cage through the wall, into the stairwell where he hits the banister hard enough to dent it. Cage grits his teeth, "This is getting old," and races back into the hallway and enters the office. There, he notices Tom holding Jessica with one launcher to her temple.

"What're you doing with her?," he asks casualy, "It's me you want."

"We want you but someone else wants her. We figured the least we can do is make you watch as we finish her off."

"Her? I don't know who she is."

"Don't play the fool. We all know about you and your little girlfriend."

Cage then becomes serious, "Fine. No more playing. You hurt her and I'll..."

Tim jumps out from behind a desk, two discs in his palms. Popping the blades on each one, he throws them; they fly down the length of the office, heading toward Cage. He backhands one disc away from him but as he does so, the second one bounces off his ribcage,... which gives him a long red scratch. Cage drops to one knee in pain.

"No," Jessica screams in horror.

"Looks like we finally found something that makes him bleed," Tim raises his final disc: an explosive one. He presses the button and hurls it at Cage. He stands and throws his hands out, catching it between his palms. At that point, he notices the red light and the strange whinning sound. A moment later, he is engulfed in a huge fireball that blows half the office away. The other three turn their heads as black smoke and debris blow past them. Jessica's expression turns to terrified sorrow as she gapes at the billowing smoke and the large hole in the wall. Tim stands in front of the smoke and flames, "That settles it. Now, the girl."

A second later, just over Tim's shoulder, a burnt desk flies out of the dark hole. He is swept away as Tom stares in disbelief. Cage steps through the smoke and flames, his shirt and a large part of his pants now torn away and burnt. Tom pushes Jessica aside and opens fire with both wrist-launchers. Cage runs toward him, allowing the blades to bounce off his chest. Tom angrily continues to fire in futility as his target gets closer. Soon, he runs out of ammo as his launchers snap, exposing empty chambers; then Cage snatches both launchers in his hands and headbutts Tom into submission.

He turns to Jessica, "You okay?".

"Yeah."

Cage turns to his unconscious opponents, "Good seeing you boys, again. We gotta do this again sometime."

"You know them?"

"I was in Segate with `em. How they got out and where they got their toys... I don't know," Cage walks over to Tom, removing one of his wrist-launchers. He hands it to Jessica, "Something's up here. Take this to Dr. Burstein. Let him look at it but don't let anyone else know you have it."

She shoves it into her bag, "Just when I think I've finished my article."

Cage pulls Tim and Tom to their feet, waking them up, "Rise and shine, boys. I would ask you a buncha questions but I know you ain't talking."

"Guess you got smarter since you been out," Tom snarls.

"This is bigger than you even know," Tim continues.

"I'm sure it is."

Moments later, Cage escorts both Stuart brothers out of the front door of the Pulse, followed by Jessica. The crowd cheers as Cage lets the police take the the brothers away. McIver quickly pushes through the crowd.

"Cage..."

"These boys were from Seagate," Cage cuts him off, "They're with the Rivals."

"Really?"

"A few days ago, Willis Stryker escaped prison. Apparently, some guys with high-tech weapons did that too. My guess, is that Tim and Tom Stuart got `im out. We have a lot of gangsters escaping and getting weapons," he looks at him accusingly, "Have any idea how that's possible?"

"No," McIver says innocently, "But you better let me have a look at those weapons. I'll figure out where they came from."

"There might be some scraps upstairs. A lot of their stuff got busted in the fight."

"... Are you sure?"

"I'm sure you won't find much."

Jessica clutches her bag tightly as police officers lead her away. Cage turns to her, the two of them nodding siltently. McIver notices her and glares angrily. Just then, the Chief of Police rushes to them.

"You did it again, Cage," he gladly shakes his hand.

"It's what they pay me for," his voice is now in a defeated tone.

The Chief turns to McIver, "Y'know, I've been thinking about your plans on hiring more guys like Luke over here. It's a great idea. With these criminals getting better weapons, we'll need all the muscle we can get." Cage turns to them as he overhears. McIver notices this and quickly pulls the chief away, "Let's talk some place quieter." The chief continues as he's practically dragged along, "If you need extra funding, I can always talk to the mayor." Cage watches them go, furious.

A police squad car drives down the street, turning into a derelict warehouse. It parks inside and the officer gets out, opening the backdoor, revealing the Stuart brothers. They look out the car door curiously. "Where the hell are we?," Tom asks. The cop says nothing as he unholsters his gun, the two men, still handcuffed and in the car, stare in horror. Outside the warehouse, two shots can be heard.


	20. Chapter 20

In Burstein's lab, Jessica leans over his shoulder as he examines the wrist-launcher. "It's really well made," he admits as he inspects an empty cartridge, "I'll take it apart and see if I can trace it back to its owner." Jessica smiles, "Great. Let me know as soon as you learn something. Remember, don't let anyone else know you have it. We don't want you getting into trouble" Burstein turns to her, "I think I already am."

McIver enters his weapons' room. His pace is businesslike and pureposeful. Sonny Caputo turns in his direction. The place is now housing several Rival members.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Caputo admits.

"I came by to meet Stryker personally. After all, he has one of my best weapons."

"Yeah, he's still trying it out."

Sonny directs him to the backroom. There, Willis Stryker is wearing the exoskeleton over a black body suit. He uses the gauntlets to strike a concrete column like a punching bag. With each hit, another chunk is broken off and crumbles to the floor. At this point, half the column is gone. Once he notices McIver, he stops.

"What's up?"

"Hello, Mr. Stryker. I see the suit fits well."

"Yeah, man. I can't wait to see Carl Lucas again."

"And the coil mechanisms? Have you learned how to use them yet?"

Stryker turns and flicks his wrist, sending a metal coil out of its chamber where it cuts a large swathe through the wall. McIver nods in approval. Stryker smirks and cocks his wrist again as the coil reels itself back into its chamber.

Sonny pulls McIver aside, "What about the last part of our deal?"

"I hire Stryker for a job and you get the shipment. Nothing's changed."

"Good. What about the Stuart brothers? You hear from them, yet?"

"Still in police custody, I'm afraid," McIver begins to leave, "I wouldn't worry about them."

Cage enters Burstein's office. Jessica Jones leans along the bookshelf next to the canister of nanos while Burstein sits behind his desk. Cage quietly closes the door, "So what do we got?".

"I found a serial number," Burstein takes the wrist-launcher from his desk drawer, "I traced the manufacturer to a company called Hammer Industries."

"And I did some research," Jones tells him, "Hammer Induistries was bought up by Syndyne once its CEO got into trouble of his own. The company builds weapons."

"So McIver basically owns this stuff?"

"Yep."

"Can we track the exact location where these things were built?"

Jessica hands a few sheets of paper over to him, "I have the address of their research facility. Authorized personnel only, of course."

"That's not gonna stop me from paying them a visit. Is your article ready?"

"Yeah. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm lucky my editor in chief is such a slave-driver. He has us working out of our homes until our office is repaired."

"Get the word out, first. It's time to let the public know what Syndyne and McIver have been up to. Tell `im everything."

"Everything? Even your past?"

"Even my past. I can take it," he turns to Burstein, "And Dr. Burstein?"

"Yes?"

He motions to the canister of nanos, "Keep working on those nanos. John McIver won't be a problem for much longer."

"That's good to hear."

Cage takes the wrist-launcher, "We'll keep ahold of this until just the right time."

Jessica sits at her home computer, putting the finishing touches on her article. Once she is finished, she send it to Johnson for publishing then sits back and sips her cup a tea. Cage sits at his own computer with the address Jessica gave him and the wrist-launcher sitting next to his laptop. He checks the location online, eventually finding the facility just outside the city. He smiles and prints it off.

An anchorman looks at the camera, "Early this morning, The Pulse reported an investigation into the dealings of Seagate Prison and its parent company, Syndyne. According to reports, the prison has been attempting to conduct human experiments under the guise of medical tests. One of these test subjects was one Carl Lucas, better known to the public as Luke Cage," Luke Cage's picture appears onscreen, "Lucas was experimented on, endowing him with his signature strength," a picture of John McIver appears, "Since that time, billionaire John McIver, has employed Cage as the famous bounty hunter. According to the Pulse, Syndyne is a subsidary of the McIver International congloermate, which is owned by McIver."

Later that afternoon, Mr. Johnson calls Jessica Jones at her home. He raises his hands happily, "Jessica, you're a pain in the ass sometimes, but you're still my favorite."

"Um, thank you?"

"The article has had eighty thousand hits this morning and is being discussed on all the major news networks. Good job, kiddo."

"Thank you, sir."

"But don't think I believe in your conspiracies."

"Of course not."

"Good talk."

He hangs up and the smile fades from her face. She sits back in her chair and gazes at her computer. There is her article: "Caged Truth". A picture of Cage is next to Carl Lucas' mugshot. She sighs and slumps down in her seat, "Hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Different New York residents once again give man-on-the-street interviews. "It doesn't matter, he's still a hero in my book. What's in the past is in the past," one man tells the camera. Another woman scowls angrily, "So it turns out he was no different than the people he was fighting." Another person is interviewed, "Human experiments in privately owned prisons? I can't believe corporations are getting away with this sort of thing." The late night comedian addresses his audience, "So Luke Cage is in the news again. Turns out he was a former inmate at Seagate Prison. Yeah, so I guess we now know his only weakness: dropping the soap." This gets a laugh from the audience.

Cage turns off his TV with a bored eye-roll. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. He quickly answers it, seeing McIver in the doorway. "Mr. McIver," he says dryly.

"You've been talking to the press. Not a good idea."

"Oh, are you camera shy all of a sudden?"

"Noah Burstein and Jessica Jones have no idea what they're talking about. I'll need you to stay away from them for a while until I can fix this."

"Why'd you lie about Syndyne?"

"My business is none of your concern."

"You basically owned Seagate Prison this entire time and then lied about it. It kinda is my business."

"Look, do you want out? Is that what this is about?," McIver's tone becomes even more aggressive, "If you want to stop working for me, Mr. Lucas, go ahead. You'll be in violation of your parole and you'll go right back to Seagate where you'll still be under my authority one way or another. This is not a fight you can win!"

"Maybe, maybe not, but it's worth fighting for anyway," Cage remains in a state of calm anger, "Oh, and that authority you were talking about? It won't last forever."

"I see," McIver begins to leave, "Take care of yourself, Mr. Lucas."

Cage closes the door and walks over to his closet. He opens it and takes out Tom Stuart's wrist-launcher, "Now for my ace."


	21. Chapter 21

Cage stoops down on a knoll. It's night and he's overlooking a barbwire fence surrounding a small building with a backroad and a parked delivery truck behind it. He creeps in, coming all the way to the fence where he watches several workers loading crates into the back of the truck's trailer. He takes the camera from inside his jacket and begins taking pictures as the men continue to load the crates filled with unknown objects. Just then, a gun barrel pokes him in the shoulder. A gruff security guard barks, "What are you doing here? Stand up slowly and turn around so I can see you." Cage rolls his eyes, raises his hands, and slowly stands up... only to mule-kick the security guard, rendering him unconscious. Cage quickly relieves the guard of his security jacket and hat, then tosses the gun far away before he rips part of the fence back just enough to slip under it. He walks onto the property, keeping his head down and his hat low as a few workers pass by. Once they leave, he races around to the back of the building and runs to the truck. The workers have now finished loading the trailer with crates. Cage makes sure no one sees him before jumping inside and ducking behind a stack. He shoves his fingers into the top of one crate, bursting it open to get a look inside. There, he sees a wrist-launcher and a set of metal discs, identical to the ones used by the Stuart brothers. "No surprises here," he whispers to himself and takes a few more pictures with his camera. He stops once he hears someone approaching and hides himself in the back just as workers shut the trailer and lock it. The driver starts the vehicle and pulls out onto the back road with Luke still inside.

Later, the truck arrives in a derelict part of the city which would not normally get many deliveries. Especially late at night. A group of men step out of the shadows and approach the truck. The last one to emerge is Sonny Caputo. The driver and one passenger get out as Caputo approaches, "You got `em?" "Yeah, check for yourself," the driver tells him. All the men move to the back of the truck, the passenger opening the trailer. Once the doors are open all the way, Luke Cage flies out, tackling the entire group of men to the pavement. Sonny leaps out of the way and quickly turns tail, racing back to the driver's side of the vehicle. There, he scrambles into the cab where the keys are still in the ignition. Sonny's bodyguards attack Cage but he gives a sharp backhand to one and shoves the second against the truck where he slides down, unconscious. Sonny starts the truck and tries desperately to put the truck into gear, eventually placing it in drive. He looks up just in time to see Cage standing in front of the grill with his back facing a wall.

"Don't do anything stupid. Get out!"

"Looks like I'll be finishing this myself," Sonny exclaims as he revs the engine.

"I said don't do anything stupid!," Cage warns, "What you're doing now?... That's 'anything stupid'."

Sonny stomps on the accelerator. "No, you are not -," Cage shouts furiously but is cut off when the truck slams into him, forcing him against the brick wall behind him which caves in slightly. Inside the cab, Sonny jolts from the impact, a slight smile spreading across his face as he is certain his foe is now dead. He sits back silently, catching his breath as he surveys the damaged wall and hood before him. Cage's arms emerge from between the wall and grill of the truck. There is a muffled grunt as he slowly pushes the semi off him while Sonny can only stare in disbelief. Cage's grunts get louder as he pushes the truck back completely, eventually slipping out, "What'd I say about doing something stupid, man?" he growls as he walks around to the driver's seat. The door of the truck is swiftly ripped away and tossed aside; this is then followed by Sonny being pulled out of the cab and dropped on the ground.

"You're Sonny Caputo, aren't you?," Cage asks, "Sonny 'The Hammer' Caputo? The Rivals' leader?"

Sonny says nothing, preferring to sulk.

"Oh, this is better than I thought. Smile," Cage takes his picture.

Hours later, police are carting Sonny and his men away and Cage is standing in front of a newscrew. He shows Tom Stuart's wrist-launcher to the camera. "...And I found crates filled with these kind of weapons," he tells them, "The same weapons used by the terrorists who attacked the Pulse earlier this week. I recognized those men as inmates at Seagate Prison."

"And who built these weapons?," the reporter asks.

"A company owned by Syndyne."

"Do you think your employer, John McIver, is aware of this?"

"Mr. McIver? Well, he's always seemed pretty trustworthy," Cage smiles brightly at the camera, "I'm sure that since this has come to light, he'll make a thourough investigation."

The Hammer Industries compound is now deserted. Two cops enter the weapons' room, surveying the multiple guns along the walls. One officer notices blueprints on a table and opens it, revealing the blueprints for the Constrictor Armor. He sets the blueprint down and stares at a bare manniquin, noticing the exo-skeleton is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a group of FBI agents walk through the front gates of Seagate Prison. The warden comes out to greet them, "What's this all about?". The agents flash their badges, "We're with the FBI. We'd like to search the premises." The warden looks at the agents nervously.


	22. Chapter 22

Cage, Jessica, and Burstein sit around a table at a diner for breakfast. They all sit back, relaxed and celebratory. "A job well done," Burstein tells them, "But I am curious to know what'll happen to you, Carl. With Syndyne exposed and McIver likely to follow, you won't be employed. Won't that interfer with your parole?"

"Well, I won't be going back to Seagate, at least. Chances are, the state will cut me some slack. Y'know, after helping Jessica expose a criminal organization and everything."

"All thanks to you," she gazes at him, "It feels good to finally be vindicated."

"Y'know, I would still be doing commercials if it wasn't for you," he kisses her.

"Don't mention it. Although that spandex costume did look good on you."

"Well, I have to get back to the university," Burstein gathers his things.

"Yeah, I should run too," Jessica stands up, "Do you think McIver will ask you to come into work today?," she jokingly asks Cage.

Cage suddenly hears his text-alert and checks his phone, "Oh, speak of the devil. He wants to see me at his office."

"Will you be okay?," she begins to look concerned.

"I doubt he's gonna pull a hit this late in the game," Cage kisses her on the cheek, "Besides, his weapons are all gone. He's got nothing left."

Not long after that, Cage arrives at McIver's office. He walks in, shutting the door behind him as he enters, "You wanted to see me, boss?," he says dryly. McIver sits quietly behind his desk, silently eyeing him. Cage walks up to him casually, "So should you start or should I?"

"I will," McIver straightens his tie, "I used a weapons dealer. From South America to the Carribean, I was known as the Bushmaster. I would sell weapons to the highest bidder: terrorists, governments, drug lords. It gave me enough eanrings to become a more legitimate businessman."

"Define legitimate."

"I work for the authorities now instead of against them. Otherwise, not much else has changed."

"I guess that is pretty legitimate these days," Cage looks out the window, "Now, since we're finally being so open and honest with one another, you mind if I tell you my theory about your plans?"

"Go ahead."

"You sell weapons to the gangs and criminals in New York. You make a profit. The authorities come to you and ask for help. You let them hire your own personal superhero: me. You make a profit again. The criminals get more dangerous because you're selling better weapons now. The authorities come to you again and you start making more superheroes. You profit even more. Is that about right?"

"That's business, yes. Any arms-dealer will tell you the best way to earn a living is to play both sides against one another."

"And you use Seagate Prison as a way to recruit future buyers. People like the Rivals."

"Very good. In fact, I expected you to be just like all the other criminals. You ended up being nobler than I anticipated."

"Thanks."

"So that's when I decided to turn you into a bounty hunter. No matter what, I knew you could be of use once I had you as a test subject."

"And if anyone caught on to what was going on at Seagate and if anyone realized you actually own Syndyne, you could always use plausible deniability."

"You're very good at this, I must say."

"Now, about Noah Burstein. I know you weren't interested in his medical work but you knew the dangers his technology could bring. You knew there was some chance you could have your very own superhuman."

"Yes. Burstein published his journal. He wrote about the possibility of a test subject with great strength and indestructible skin. I read your file when you volunteered. The rest was as easy as manipulating that guard in sabotaging the experiment in hopes the right outcome would be achieved."

"Rackham."

"The man was an idiot. It didn't take much to push him in the right direction."

"Now, for Jessica Jones. When you knew Jessica was hanging out with me and was on to you, you put a hit on her. You wanted me killed alongside her, right?"

"You were a liability at that point. Besides, the police were already interested in hiring more superhuman bounty hunters. You would've been obsolete once we reopened the nano-experiments. Unfortunately, you were much more difficult to kill than expected."

"Yeah. Sorry to disappoint."

McIver smiles, "Still making jokes. You don't realize how deep this goes. My organization is only one part of a much larger syndicate. Your girlfriend, Jessica Jones, has touched upon it," he stands up calmly and begins to pace around the room, "We're called the Maggia. We're in the cartels, the corporations, even the government. Even if you somehow manage to bring me down, it won't be the end of it."

"I can live with that," Cage starts to leave but turns back, "Just one more thing. Willis Stryker. Where's he at? I expected him to pop out from behind the desk with a bazooka or something."

"You're smart, Carl Lucas, but not smart enough. You think you're invincible but you haven't thought about your girlfriend or the good Dr. Burstein."

Cage stares at him.

"Think about this, Mr. Lucas. Jessica Jones has worked to expose me and Noah Burstein has refused to allow me to use his technology any further. Wouldn't I have incentive to lash out at them? Especially since you are so indestructible, what other choice do I have but to go after those you care about?," Cage lunges toward McIver but he raises a single hand, "That won't solve anything right now. I decided to only attack one of them today. It's entirely a personal matter now. I want you to suffer. Think. Which one did I go after first? The doctor or the reporter? They're in two different parts of New York. Obviously, there probably isn't enough time to make sure both are secure, so you should make up your mind quickly."

Cage darts out of his office. McIver smiles as he watches him go. Jessica or Burstein? Which one is in peril? Cage ponders this as he races out of the building.

Cage bounds through Jessica's front door ripping it completely off its hinges. In the living room, Jessica leaps off her couch and shouts, "What the hell!" Cage looks around the room, "Are you okay?".

"I will be once you buy me a new door."

"McIver's going after you and Burstein."

"Everything's fine here. Oh God, that means..."

"Burstein."

At a parking lot at Empire State University, Busrtein walks to his car. He gets in, starts it, and pulls away. He drives out of the lot just in time for a truck to plow into his front end hard enough to send the car into a spin. The truck doesn't even slow down as it speeds away, leaving a badly damaged car and Burstein inside.


	23. Chapter 23

Burstein lays in a hospital bed, unsconscious and hooked up to monitors. Cage and Jessica watch over him, Cage distraught. Jessica wraps her arms around his shoulders, "The doctors say he's gonna pull through."

"This ends here," Cage stands to his feet, "He's gone after both of you so far."

"There has to be more to this. He's already gone after me but failed," Jessica tells him, "He didn't try it a second time. He went after Dr. Burstein instead. He chose him tonight for a reason."

"McGiver knew I would try to protect you first."

"Not just that. Look, he wants to create more people like you, right? He needs the nano-technology to do that. Burstein stopped working for him. He doesn't have access to the technology anymore. So how can he give anyone superpowers?"

"He's stealing the nanos!," Cage begins to rush out of the hospital room, "Keep an eye on Burstein."

"Cage!"

"Yeah?," he briefly turns back.

"Be careful."

A pair of metal boots walk down the hallway to Burstein's office. The boots belong to a figure in a longcoat who stops once it reaches the office. A metal gauntlet punches through the door, knocking out the doorknob and lock. The door swings open as the shadowy figure stands in the doorway; a shadow passing over the canister of nanobots.

Soon, Cage comes racing onto the university quad, stopping once he sees someone approaching. Willis Stryker emerges from the science department building, canister in hand and a long overcoat covering most of his body.

"Stryker."

"Lucas."

"Still taking stuff that don't belong to you?"

"Still acting like your shit don't stink?"

"Give me the nanobots."

"Come and take `im."

Stryker shrugs the coat off his shoulders, revealing his black body suit and the exo-skeleton wrapped around him. He takes out the headgear and places it over his face, covering his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. While he still holds the canister, he flips his wrists, unlocking the chambers on his gauntlets, then raises his arms, unraveling the twin metal coils from each chamber, allowing them to flail into the air. Cage approaches, only for Stryker to whip one coil into his chin, knocking him off his feet. While he is still in mid-air, Stryker whirls the second coil over his head, hitting Cage across the face and sending him tumbling through the quad.

Stryker races under an overhang of another building, wrapping a coil around a pillar and swinging vertically around to a second one as Cage follows. Stryker pulls the coil tightly, breaking both pillars in half. A large chunk of the overhang crumbles along with the a portion of the second floor. It drops on Cage, burying him under tons of rubble just before Stryker runs back across the quad. A few seconds pass as the pile of concrete, bookshelves, and tables remain unchanged. Then they begin to shift, some tables and shelves sliding off the slabs of concrete. Cage pushes the debris off his back, grunting loudly as he strains his muscles, eventually managing to slip out from under it. Meanwhile, Stryker makes his way to a train overpass. He sends a coil up to a maintenance ladder and retracts the cable, riding up toward the tracks. Cage arrives on the scene just in time for a train to pass overhead. Stryker uses a coil to latch onto the it, riding it along the overpass before swinging underneath it, flying up to the otherside of the and latching onto it a second time. He reels himself in, landing on the roof where he digs his hand in with his gauntlet. He looks back with a cocky grin as he rides it out of the university campus. Undaunted, Cage follows, knowing exactly where he's headed.

McIver International. Night. On the top floor, McIver looks out over New York silently. The door opens behind him and Stryker walks in, setting the canister on his desk, "I got your stuff."

"Well done," McIver turns around and examines the canister.

"So what about Sonny and the Stuart brothers? Are we getting them out soon?"

"I assume Carl Lucas isn't dead?," McIver brushes him off as he hefts the canister in his hands.

"I don't know. He didn't follow me after I whupped his ass."

"If you didn't see a body, it's best to assume he's still alive and is coming for us."

"Okay, but what about my boys?"

McIver turns to him, "Let security know to suit up. They should be ready when he gets here. Let them soften him up a little before you engage."

"Yeah,... sure," Stryker leaves, giving McIver a suspicious look in the process.


	24. Chapter 24

Luke Cage runs along the rooftops, leaping over obstacles and clearing alleys in great leaps. He slides down a stooped roof, kicking off the ledge where he lands on the next rooftop. He races along it toward McIver's building where he hurls himself off the edge, flying over the multi-lane street below in the process. A second later, he smashes through a large window on one of the lower floors, rolling along the carpet before coming to a crouching position. The meeting room is dark and silent, and once Cage goes through the door, he finds the hallway equally dark and quiet. He checks his surroundings for any foes and carefully makes his way down; a security camera picks him up as he goes. Suddenly, the light turns on above him, and he freezes mid-step. This is followed by the next light turning on and the next, down the length of the hallway, eventually illuminating the entire floor. Cage stands ready as two black military boots step around the corner. A guard clad in full black body armor and helmet complete with a visor raises a large assault rifle. Cage turns around just in time for him to fire a single shot which is enough to stagger Cage a bit as most of the fabric on the shoulder of his shirt is blasted away. He straightens up and notices the power of the rifle, "Looks like your boss got better weapons. I was hoping this wouldn't be too easy." The guard disappears back behind the wall and Cage follows.

When he rounds the corner, he sees the guard now standing alongside two partners in identical armor. They all stand at a different angle, almost placing Cage in the center of a triangle. He sighs to himself and they open fire, spinning Cage around like a ballerina before he hits the floor. They stop shooting once they realize, for all their new hardware, he is mostly unharmed. He sits up in time for one of the guards to place the barrell directly against the back of his head, "Stay down!". "No thanks," Cage growls, slaps the gun out of his hand, and grabs him by his armored vest. He stands to his feet, throwing him over his head vertically where he hits the ceiling, taking out a light before falling face first to the ground. Cage leaps over the unconscious guard and slams his fist into the chest plate of a second one. The man is hurled into his partner and they are both flung down the length of the hallway where they hit the tile floor and continue to slide for a few feet. Both of them begin to pick themselves up, their armor keeping them from being rendered unconscious. Once Cage makes his way to them, he grabs both by the backs of their vests and flings them against the walls on either side of the hallway, then continues on his way. Another security camera picks him up with a voice on a radio declaring, "Target is approaching the fifth floor attrium. All units respond."

Cage enters another section of the building as glass doors slide out of his way. He strides down a smaller hallway before coming to another automatic door, leading to a large circular atrium with two flights of stairs leading up to the second level. Coulmns connect the floor and second levels, leading up to a domed ceiling. A platoon of security guards stand ready along the second level, rifles drawn as they cover him in a semi-circle. Cage calmly steps into the center of the atrium and shrugs as he gazes up at the armored men, "Ready when you are." The men open fire from above, hitting him from 180 degrees along with the sound of denting metal. Cage jerks back and forth as his shirt is shredded and his body is battered around until he is eventually lifted off his feet and hits the floor. Once he is on all fours, he is hit with another barrage, pinning him down under the force of heavy gunfire. He drops back to the floor. Gradually, the rifles begin to stop, one after another as the men run out of ammo. Soon, the last chamber is emptied and the sound of gunfire echoes through the atrium. They set their rifles next to their feet and reach into their belts, producing batons. Cage groans in pain and begins to pick himself off the floor. The guards flick switches at the ends of their batons, charging them with electric bolts. Cage watches as one baton after another is lit up with blues streams of energy that run down the length of the weapons. The men turn in unison and race down the steps on either side of the atrium, quickly surrounding him as he gets up. By the time he's on his feet, they begin thrusting their electrified batons into his torso and clubbing him. He twitches under each bolt and is eventually brought back down on one knee. They continue their assault as he covers his head. Soon, they crowd around him, completely covering him under a blanket of black armor and electrified weapons.

A moment later, one arm emerges from under their feet, sweeping the legs out from under a guard. He falls onto his back and is immediately pulled into the crowd. The guards try their best to get back just as Cage stands up, swinging the captured guard by the ankle, batting away two of them before tossing him across the room. He punches another guard who flies back, hitting a column. He slams his fist into the visor of another, shattering it. The guards step back as two of them pull smoke-bombs from their belts, remove the pins, and roll them along the floor. Cage holds his breath as a cloud of smoke rises up. Another guard hurls a smoke-bomb against the wall; it spins as smoke unfurls from the top. Soon, a large cloud hovers in the middle of the floor with Cage somewhere inside. The guards quickly move in, anticipating a blinded Luke Cage. As one enters the cloud, he briefly spots Cage's shadowy form. A moment later, he is thrown back out of the smoke and more sweep in. Another guard gets a knee to the stomach and is tossed into two more guards, knocking them down. Another is hit by a backswing and sent spinning into the air. Finally, a guard is grabbed by his face mask and slammed into the floor. As the smoke dissapates, Cage rises to his feet, the unconscious security force strewn around him. He now wears one of the black vests from an unconscious guard and a helmet which he quickly slips off and drops. As he makes his way through the room, one last guard attacks from behind a coulmn, baton raised. Without missing a beat, Cage blocks the baton strike, grabs the guard by the back of his armor, and hurls him across the room where he hits the second level ledge behind him. He strides into a nearby elevator and rides it to the top floor.

Willis Stryker enters McIver's office once again, "He's coming up."

McIver turns to him with a smirk, "Then do what you need to do."

Stryker smiles and leaves the office.


	25. Chapter 25

Lucas enters the massive penthouse on the top floor. It is furnished with smaller offices and columns lining the walls. Stryker enters the penthouse from the opposite end and the two circle each other.

"So Stryker, you know McIver ain't on your side, right? He'll throw you under the bus first chance he gets. Just like he did with the rest of your gang."

"Maybe. I'll deal with that later. Right now, I'll gladly kill you for `im," Stryker unlocks the chambers on his gauntlets and raises his forearms, unleashing both coils.

"It's funny you're so cocky right now, wearing that stupid suit. It almost makes me take you seriously."

Stryker puts his helmet in place, "So... Ready for another ass-whupp'n?"

"Sure... by the way, I never got a chance to ask, how's the leg?"

Stryker whips his right coil around but Cage ducks, raising his hand and allowing the coil to wrap itself around his palm. Cage clenches his fist and yanks Stryker across the room and slams his fist into his chestplate, throwing him back the way he came. Stryker grinds his boots across the floor, kicking up the tiles. He sends his left coil to wrap around Cage's ankle and quickly flicks his wrist, reeling the coil back in which pulls Cage off his feet and slides him across the floor. Stryker turns and as the coil releases him, it sends Cage into the air where he slams through a wall, into an office. Cage sits up amidst dust and debris, only for a coil to enter through the hole and wrap around his throat. He is pulled back into the penthouse, taking out a chunk of granite along the way as he passes awardly through the hole. Stryker spins around as he carries him across the room. The mid-part of the coil is pressed against a coulmn and Cage is wrapped around it where he is eventually pinned, facing him. Stryker wraps the second coil around the pillar, making it also wrap around Cage's throat. He reels the coils back in, choking Cage in the process as he is forced against the column. Cage gurgles, trying his best to loosen the coils' grip but they become increasingly tighter as Stryker reels them in with a sadistic grin. Cage slams his fists against the sides of the pillar, breaking off two large chunks. The coils get tighter as his face begins to turn red. He hits the pillar again, breaking it in half. With the damage done, Stryker's coils end up snapping off the second part of the pillar, sending Cage into the air toward him. Cage drop kicks Stryker across the penthouse where he is slammed through another wall.

He hops through the hole just as Stryker picks himself off the office floor. Stryker hits him with a right cross and then tries a left jab but it is blocked just before Cage punches and staggers him. The two men grapple and the momentum carries them across the room where they smash through the window, falling onto the outside ledge where they nearly roll off the side, facing a drop of several stories. As Cage stands up, he recieves a knee to the face. He is almost pushed off the edge but quickly regains his balance and throws himself back, slamming Stryker into the side of the building. Stryker presses his back against the wall and kicks with both feet, which forces Cage to stumble back and fall off the side. He catches himself with one hand, dangling over the streets below. Stryker smirks and stomps on his hand in an attempt to force him to let go. Cage snatches him by the ankle with his free hand and pulls him over the side. Stryker falls but uses his whip to snag a stone gargoyle. He swings off the statue, launching himself into the air where he hits the slopped roof. He slams his fists and boots into the side of the building, sliding down, taking out large chunks as he goes, eventually coming to a stop. Meanwhile, Cage climbs back onto the ledge and rises to his feet. Stryker drops down from above but he is caught in mid-air, spun around, and thrown back through what's left of the window.

Stryker breaks through the office wall, bounces off the floor of the penthouse, and lands on his feet. Moments later, Cage reenters the penthouse and stands ready. Stryker attacks with both whips but they are caught in vice grips. Cage swings him around, slamming him into a pillar. He then swings Stryker over his head where he lands, face down. Cage lunges forward, grabbing the back of the exo-skeleton and lifts him to his feet. He runs across the room, carrying a panicing Stryker until he slams his head through the wall. He pulls him back out, dropping a broken faceplate in the process, then hurls him back across the room like a sack of potatos where he lands face down once again.

McIver pokes his head out of his office and sees Cage approaching a prone Willis Stryker. He slams the door shut, a worried look crossing his face. Then he notices the canister of nanobots still on his desk.

Stryker tries his best to get back up but his exoskeleton grinds and clicks as parts of it stick out in broken pieces. Cage rolls him onto his back, giving him a look as Stryker clings onto consciousness.

McIver takes a closer look at the canister, eventually feeling around until he finds the button that releases one of the tubes. He takes it out, examining it in the light before taking a deep breath. He pops open the top and quickly brings the tube up to his mouth, downing the gold substance in one gulp. Then he waits for something to happen.

Meanwhile, just outside his office, Cage takes Stryker's coils in each hand, then presses his foot against a damaged chest piece. He pulls tightly as the coils begin to break. Finally, something snaps and he stumbles back, ripping out the metal whips and taking half of Stryker's gauntlets along with them.

Mc Iver is still waiting. Something turns inside him and he lurches forward, dropping the glass tube on the floor where it shatters. He throws his head back and raises his arm, his eyes going wide as he feels the effects of his body changing. His arms and legs bulge along with his chest and shoulders. Next, parts of his suit bursts open as his body expands more. He stares up at the ceiling as his skin turns into a metallic, copper color. He begins to scream but the sound is cut off almost immediately.

Cage snatches Stryker's chest plate and pulls, which destroys the center piece of the exo-skeleton and tosses it aside. Stryker looks up at him with disdain. "Just to let you know, Stryker," Cage tells him, "None of this would have been possible without you." He takes his leave and Stryker finally puts his head down and passes out.

Cage walks slowly to McIver's office, gradually opening the door. Everything is silent as pokes his head in, quickly spotting a figure in the center of the room. He comes in, witnessing McIver from behind. His body stands still, arms and head still raised. Meanwhile, the rips in his suit reveal a buldging, yet metallic body. Cage approahes slowly, and gets a look at him from the front. McIver's head is still titlted back with a frozen expression of pain and terror. His face is a bronze, metal mask stuck in place with terrified eyes darting back and forth. Cage takes a look at the canister and the missing tube, then back at the frozen McIver. "You should've paid attention to Burstein's lectures more," Cage tells him, "The nanos go in but they have to come back out. Now you see why it was too dangerous to let you have it."

He quietly takes the canister and exits the office, leaving McIver now trapped in an immovable body.


	26. Chapter 26

Luke Cage stands once again before the judge, the same one who sentenced him five years earlier. The courtroom is empty save for the two men and the parole board who sit behind him, "Mr. Lucas, after discussing the matter with the parole board and in light of your recent service to society, we have decided that, upon completetion of your parole, you will be available for early release of your sentence. The only provision being that you remain employed. Do you have a source of employment?"

"I do, sir. Even though John McIver has been incarcerated, I have continued my services as a private business. I hope to continue working with law enforcement as well as the citizens of New York in keeping them safe."

"Well, that's all we needed to hear, son."

Luke Cage smiles brightly as the judge dismisses him. He steps outside the courtroom where Jessica waits nervously. She shoots to her feet as he passes through the double doors, raising his hands, "It's done." She rushes to him and wraps her arms around him, giving him a kiss.

"Hey, look who's a free man."

They turn to see Burstein approaching them, now with a crutch and a brace on his leg. Cage shakes his hand, "All thanks to you, Dr. Burstein." Burstein gives him a pat on his back, "And thanks to you, I can continue to work in peace." Jessica puts her arm around him, "I think this calls for a celebration."

Suddenly, Cage's phone rings. He raises a finger, "Hold on," and answers, "Hello?" He listens for a few seconds with Jessica and Burstein waiting, "... So the police can't manage to find these guys?... Okay, let me know the address and I'll be right over." He hangs up and turns to them, "I'll take a raincheck on that celebration. Some store owner keeps getting knocked over by gang members. I'm gonna check it out." Jessica gives him another kiss, "Good luck." Cage kisses her back, "I think I have all the luck I need."

He turns, walking down the hall towards an open door which is aglow with sunlight. Jessica and Burstein proudly watch him leave. Cages steps out of the courthouse, placing sunglasses on the bridge of his nose; ready for the next adventure.

**The Stinger**

**Danny Rand stands in the middle of a darkened dojo, alone and wearing his traditional green and gold gi from K'un L'un. The shirt is sleeveless and open, exposing the chest which has a black dragon tatto: the mark of Shaou-Lao. He takes a yellow cloth skull cap in his hands and pulls it over half his face, revealing two black eyeholes, and ties it behind his head. He takes a martial arts stance, breathes for a moment... then explodes in a fury of punches and kicks. Finally, he does a reverse sommersault across the room, back flips, lands, and ignites his right fist with the explosive Iron Fist technique. He spins and leaps around, a trail of golden energy following his hand with every movement as he strikes. Finally, he punches the air, releasing the Iron Fist in an explosive burst of energy around his fingertips.**

**A few minutes later, he leaves the dojo, which is revealed to be a single room in a much larger house. Despite his lavish living conditions, there are few decoratiosn in the house, a result of very simple living. He walks into his massive kitchen, opens the refridgerator, and removes a bottle of water. He takes the bottle of water to his study where he plops down in fornt of a desk and starts working on his computer. He performs a websearch on "current medical studies" and soon finds a link to the Pulse. He brings up Jessica Jones' article on Burstein's nanobots. He takes a swig from his water bottle as he reads.**

**END**

**Heroes For Hire: The Movie now playing - s/9235783/1/Heroes-For-Hire-The-Movie**


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